Riociguat for Sarcoidosis-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension: Results of a 1-Year Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: Riociguat is effective in delaying the time to clinical worsening (TCW) in patients with groups 1 and 4 pulmonary hypertension.

Research Question: Is riociguat more effective than placebo in prolonging TCW in sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary hypertension (SAPH)?

Study Design And Methods: This was a double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Patients with SAPH confirmed by right heart catheterization were randomized 1:1 to riociguat or placebo.

The small airways in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: pathology and effects on disease progression and survival.

Purpose Of Review: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is caused by a mixture of small airway disease (obstructive bronchitis) and parenchymal lung tissue destruction (emphysema). The relative contributions of these two pathologic states vary from person to person. Having the ability to phenotype patients into predominately small airways disease or emphysema may affect the clinical management.

Automated telecommunication to obtain longitudinal follow-up in a multicenter cross-sectional COPD study.

Background: It can be challenging to maintain longitudinal follow-up of subjects in clinical studies. COPDGene is a multicenter, observational study designed to identify genetic factors associated with COPD and to characterize COPD-related phenotypes. To obtain follow-up data on patient's vital status and outcomes, the COPDGene Longitudinal Follow-up (LFU) Program was developed to supplement its parent study.