Small Airways Dysfunction and Lung Hyperinflation in Long COVID-19 Patients as Potential Mechanisms of Persistent Dyspnoea.

Background: Reticulation, ground glass opacities and post-infection bronchiectasis are present three months following hospitalisation in patients recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with the severity of acute infection. However, scarce data exist on small airways impairment and lung hyperinflation in patients with long COVID-19.

Aim: To evaluate small airways function and lung hyperinflation in previously hospitalised patients with long COVID-19 and their association with post-COVID-19 breathlessness.

Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy under real-time radial EBUS: First report on a novel twist of the classical technique.

Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) is a relatively new technique for obtaining lung biopsies, known for being the least invasive method while offering a high diagnostic yield, a favourable safety profile, and a significant reduction in morbidity, mortality, and hospital stay length compared to surgical lung biopsy. Radial-EBUS (r-EBUS) represent a cornerstone modality for accessing 'invisible' peripheral pulmonary lesions. However, a major drawback of these techniques is the lack of 'real-time' visualization of the biopsy being obtained.

Bronchoscopy with and without needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy for peripheral lung nodule diagnosis: protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial (CLEVER trial).

Introduction: Despite many technological advances, the diagnostic yield of bronchoscopic peripheral lung nodule analysis remains limited due to frequent mispositioning. Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) enables real-time microscopic feedback on needle positioning, potentially improving the sampling location and diagnostic yield. Previous studies have defined and validated nCLE criteria for malignancy, airway and lung parenchyma.

Expression of PD-1/PD-L1 axis in mediastinal lymph nodes and lung tissue of human and experimental lung fibrosis indicates a potential therapeutic target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Mediastinal lymph node enlargement is prevalent in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Studies investigating whether this phenomenon reflects specific immunologic activation are lacking.

Methods: Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/ programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression in mediastinal lymph nodes and lung tissues was analyzed.