Utility of bronchoalveolar lavage for COVID-19: a perspective from the Dragon consortium.

Diagnosing COVID-19 and treating its complications remains a challenge. This review reflects the perspective of some of the Dragon (IMI 2-call 21, #101005122) research consortium collaborators on the utility of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in COVID-19. BAL has been proposed as a potentially useful diagnostic tool to increase COVID-19 diagnosis sensitivity.

[Probe based confocal laser endomicroscopy in thoracic endoscopy].

Introduction: Probe based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) is a new endoscopic imaging technology. It uses mini probes which can be introduced through the working channels of endoscopes. Whenever applied on the tissue of interest, they allow imaging of tissue at a cellular level.

[Lung disease associated with rheumatoid arthritis].

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory systemic disease. Pulmonary manifestations are the most common extra-articular involvements and can impact all components of the respiratory system: parenchyma, pleura, vessels and airways, all complications that are briefly described in this article. Interstitial lung disease is the most common of these and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.

[Clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis : a rare entity associated with acute and severe interstitial lung disease].

Dermatomyositis is a rare disease of unknown etiology characterized by a severe inflammatory myopathy associated with a cutaneous syndrome. Dermatomyositis is associated with multisystemic disorders mostly represented by cardiac, pulmonary and articular involvements, which are particularly associated with a bad prognosis. We report a case of a 50-year-old patient suffering from dermatomyositis associated with an interstitial lung disease with a particularly fast and pejorative clinical evolution.

Airflow obstruction as a marker of adverse prognosis in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: In our study, we explored the specific subgroup of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffering from obstructive lung disease (OLD) and its impact on morbi-mortality.

Methods: Our retrospective study included 309 patients suffering from RA with either obstructive (O-RA) or non-obstructive patterns (non-O-RA). OLD was defined based on the Tiffeneau index at the first available pulmonary functional test (PFT).