Home spirometry appears accurate and feasible for monitoring chronic respiratory disease.

https://bit.ly/42TLoYd.

The impact of the 2022 Ukraine/Russian conflict on cancer clinical trials.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, clinical trial conduct has become extremely challenging due to damage to the healthcare infrastructure and patient displacement. This current study aimed to estimate the number of cancer clinical trials at risk of impact from the conflict. A descriptive analysis and narrative review were completed using data from cancer clinical trials with sites in Russia or Ukraine using the 'clinical trials.

The emerging association between bronchiectasis and systemic sclerosis: assessing prevalence and potential causality.

Background: Bronchiectasis has been observed in association with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Theorised aetiology includes aspiration related to oesophageal dysmotility, immunosuppressant medication use and the direct effect of collagen deposition on airway calibre.

Aims: To detail bronchiectasis prevalence in an SSc population who have had a high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the thorax.

Transfer learning artificial intelligence for automated detection of atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing evaluation for suspected obstructive sleep apnoea: a feasibility study.

Background: Individuals with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) experience a higher burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) than the general population, and many cases of AF remain undetected. We tested the feasibility of an artificial intelligence (AI) approach to opportunistic detection of AF from single-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) which are routinely recorded during in-laboratory polysomnographic sleep studies.

Methods: Using transfer learning, an existing ECG AI model was applied to 1839 single-lead ECG traces recorded during in-laboratory sleep studies without any training of the algorithm.

Patterns of immunotherapy-induced pneumonitis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a case series.

Background: Immunotherapy has become an efficacious option in the management of solid organ malignancies. Immune-related adverse events including pneumonitis are well described and may be particularly of concern in patients receiving immunotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer.

Case Presentations: In this paper, we describe three cases of immunotherapy-induced pneumonitis occurring in the management of lung malignancy.

Case report of osteolytic lesions in a patient with multisystem granulomatous disease.

We present a case of a 70-year-old Caucasian woman with multisystem granulomatous disease involving her lungs, bones and lymph nodes. The patient initially presented with cervical lymphadenopathy and subsequently developed progressive breathlessness. Imaging revealed extensive mediastinal, hilar and intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy as well as bilateral pulmonary parenchymal infiltrates.

Dilemmas in anticoagulation and use of inferior vena cava filters in venous thromboembolism; a survey of Respiratory Physicians, Haematologists and Medical Oncologists and a review of the literature.

Twenty percent of patients with Cancer Associated Thrombosis receive an inferior vena cava filter annually. Insertion is guided by practice guidelines, which do not specify or discuss the use of inferior vena cava filters in malignancy. Adherence to these guidelines is known to be variable.

Doctors' understanding of consent law.

Background: Obtaining informed consent is an important responsibility of all doctors and is a major component of their day-to-day practice. However, little is known regarding practising doctors' understanding of consent in relation to medical law.

Aims: To gain insights into current doctors' understanding of the legal requisites that underpin the consent of patients to medical procedures in Australia.

Threshold of Pulmonary Hypertension Associated With Increased Mortality.

Background: There is increasing evidence that current thresholds for diagnosing pulmonary hypertension (PHT) underestimate the prognostic impact of PHT.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic impact of increasing pulmonary pressures within the National Echocardiography Database of Australia cohort (n = 313,492).

Methods: The distribution of estimated right ventricular systolic pressure (eRVSP) was examined in 157,842 men and women.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension outcomes upon endothelin-1 receptor antagonist switch to macitentan.

Objectives: To assess whether switching patients with suboptimally controlled pulmonary arterial hypertension from bosentan or ambrisentan to macitentan would improve six-minute walk test (6MWT) distance and World Health Organization functional class.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of 37 patients from a single center. Patients were separated into three heterogeneous treatment groups and followed for 18 months: switch group (n = 14): patients switched to macitentan from bosentan/ambrisentan; added group (n = 11): patients who began macitentan as de novo therapy (n = 5) or who added macitentan to an existing sildenafil regimen (n = 6); and control group (n = 12): patients for whom sildenafil and/or bosentan/ambrisentan therapy was unchanged.

Advances in screening for undiagnosed atrial fibrillation for stroke prevention and implications for patients with obstructive sleep apnoea: a literature review and research agenda.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of sustained cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, and its burden is expected to increase in most developed countries over the next few decades. Because AF can be silent, it is often not diagnosed until an AF-related complication occurs, such as stroke. AF is also associated with increased risk of heart failure, lower quality of life, and death.

Polyarticular arthropathy and encephalopathy in a 70-year-old woman.

A 70-year-old woman with a background of portopulmonary hypertension, managed with sildenafil and oral diuretics, and cirrhosis, presented with acute on chronic haemorrhoidal bleeding, iron deficiency anaemia and worsening right heart failure. She presented in a normal conscious and cognitive state. Management involved intravenous diuresis with frusemide and blood transfusion.

The National Echocardiography Database Australia (NEDA): Rationale and methodology.

The National Echocardiography Database Australia (NEDA) is a new echocardiography database collecting digital measurements on both a retrospective and prospective basis. To date, echocardiographic data from 435,133 individuals (aged 61.6 ± 17.

Lung transplant: the Western Australian experience.

Background: The Western Australian lung transplant programme commenced in 2004 to serve the growing demand of patients with end-stage lung disease.

Aim: This report summarises our 11-year experience in lung transplantation.

Methods: Data on 115 consecutive patients and their respective donors transplanted between 2004 and 2015 were collected.

Inferior vena cava filters (IVCFs): a review of uses and application to international guidelines at a single Australian center; implications of venous thromboembolism associated with malignancy.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potentially lethal event. Anticoagulation is the cornerstone of treatment. Inferior vena cava filters (IVCFs) may be used in circumstances when anticoagulation is contraindicated or as an adjunct to anticoagulation.

The role of asymmetric dimethylarginine alone and in combination with N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide as a screening biomarker for systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary arterial hypertension: a case control study.

Objectives: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a novel biomarker of endothelial cell dysfunction. In this proof of concept study, we sought to evaluate the role of ADMA as a screening biomarker for incident systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH).

Methods: ADMA levels were measured using high performance liquid chromatography in 15 consecutive treatment-naive patients with newly-diagnosed SSc-PAH and compared with 30 SSc-controls without PAH.

Quantifying change in pulmonary function as a prognostic marker in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease.

Objectives: Clinically meaningful change in systemic sclerosis (SSc) related interstitial lung (SSc-ILD) disease is unknown. The aim of this study was to quantify change in pulmonary function as a predictor of outcome in SSc-ILD.

Methods: All patients had SSc-ILD defined by HRCT chest.

A comparison of the predictive accuracy of three screening models for pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis.

Introduction: There is evidence that early screening for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) improves outcomes. We compared the predictive accuracy of two recently published screening algorithms (DETECT 2013 and Australian Scleroderma Interest Group (ASIG) 2012) for SSc-associated PAH (SSc-PAH) with the commonly used European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society (ESC/ERS 2009) guidelines.

Methods: We included 73 consecutive SSc patients with suspected PAH undergoing right heart catheterization (RHC).

The inclusion of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in a sensitive screening strategy for systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary arterial hypertension: a cohort study.

Introduction: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major cause of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Screening guidelines for PAH recommend multiple investigations, including annual echocardiography, which together have low specificity and may not be cost-effective. We sought to evaluate the predictive accuracy of serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in combination with pulmonary function tests (PFT) (‘proposed’ algorithm) in a screening algorithm for SSc-PAH.

Psychometric performance of the CAMPHOR and SF-36 in pulmonary hypertension.

Background: The Cambridge Pulmonary Hypertension Outcome Review (CAMPHOR) and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) are widely used to assess patient-reported outcome in individuals with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The aim of the study was to compare the psychometric properties of the two measures.

Methods: Participants were recruited from specialist PH centres in Australia and New Zealand.

Time from symptoms to definitive diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension: The delay study.

Survival rates for patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) have improved with the introduction of PAH-specific therapies. However, the time between patient-reported onset of symptoms and a definitive diagnosis of IPAH is consistently delayed. We conducted a retrospective, multi-center, descriptive investigation in order to (a) understand what factors contribute to persistent diagnostic delays, and (b) examine the time from initial symptom onset to a definitive diagnosis of IPAH.