ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) in the elderly: clinical presentation, treatment and outcomes.

Purpose: To explore treatment and outcomes in older patients with AAV.

Methods: Retrospective review (1 year) of patients > 75 years with positive MPO/PR3 antibodies.

Results: Thirty-nine evaluable patients had new positive MPO/PR3 antibodies.

Diagnosis of myocardial infarction following hospitalisation for exacerbation of COPD.

Cardiovascular disease is common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and raised troponin is common in exacerbations. However, the prevalence of myocardial infarction following hospitalisation for exacerbation of COPD is unknown. Patients aged ≥ 40 yrs hospitalised with acute exacerbation of COPD (n = 242) with ≥ 10 pack-yrs of cigarette smoking were included in a prospective case series conducted in four hospitals.

Multiple pneumothoraces during second and third trimesters as first presentation of lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

A case of lymphangioleiomyomatosis presenting as multiple pneumothoraces during pregnancy is described below. Presentations, management and prognosis are discussed.

Bisoprolol in patients with heart failure and moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized controlled trial.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) frequently coexist. No study has prospectively examined the effects of beta-blockade in those with both conditions.

Methods And Results: We randomized 27 patients with HF and coexistent moderate or severe COPD to receive bisoprolol or placebo, titrated to maximum tolerated dose over 4 months.

Heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: diagnostic pitfalls and epidemiology.

Heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are global epidemics incurring significant morbidity and mortality. The combination presents many diagnostic challenges. Clinical symptoms and signs frequently overlap.

Impact of smoking on asthma therapy: a critical review of clinical evidence.

Airway inflammation is central to the pathophysiology of asthma, with treatment directed towards modification of this inflammation and its consequences. The relationship between cigarette smoking and airway inflammation is also well described, but relatively little data are available on the potential influence of smoking on asthmatic airway inflammation and its treatment. While cigarette smoking is common in people with asthma, with prevalence rates similar to the general population, studies in asthma have tended to concentrate on individuals who have never smoked.

Association of forced expiratory volume with disease duration and sputum neutrophils in chronic asthma.

Some patients with chronic asthma develop irreversible airflow obstruction. Our aim was to assess whether reported duration of asthma and induced sputum cell counts were associated with pulmonary function in patients with asthma who did not smoke. Maximal forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV(1)) was determined following a steroid trial (oral prednisolone, 30 mg/d [n = 92 patients]; or inhaled fluticasone, 2000 microg/d [n = 5]; for 2 weeks) and 2.