Pulmonary Mycobacterium malmoense Infection in a Patient with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer, Systemic Sclerosis, and Interstitial Pneumonia: A Case Report and Brief Review of the Literature.

A 69-year-old man with systemic sclerosis and interstitial pneumonia presented with an abnormal shadow in the right upper lung lobe. A thoracoscopic needle biopsy was performed on the right upper lobe lesion, and Mycobacterium malmoense was identified by 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequencing. Surgical treatment was performed to obtain a radical cure, and lung squamous cell carcinoma and M.

Clinical characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility of non-vaccine serotype Streptococcus pneumoniae in adult Japanese patients with pneumonia.

Background: Non-vaccine serotype (NVT) pneumococcal pneumonia in Japan has increased with the spread of pneumococcal vaccinations. However, there is no data regarding the clinical background and antimicrobial susceptibility of NVT isolates compared with those of vaccine serotype (VT) isolates in adult pneumococcal pneumonia.

Methods: The serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibilities of pneumococcal isolates obtained from patients with pneumonia at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, from January 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively evaluated along with the patients' clinical information.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis with metachronous isolation of three distinct species.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is an inflammatory disease induced by exaggerated immune responses to species. Although ABPA has a high recurrence (48%), its instances with sequential isolation of distinct species are sporadic. Only one case report has documented the metachronous isolation of and .

Infectious respiratory pathogens among patients with acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Japan.

Background: Few studies have investigated the prevalence of pathogens in patients with acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF), specifically, the interactions between respiratory pathogens and AE-IPF during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze pathogens in patients with AE-IPF between September 2020 and December 2022.

Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted at our hospital between September 2020 and December 2022.

Difficulty differentiating primary mediastinal classical Hodgkin lymphoma from inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: A case report.

A 20-year-old Japanese man visited our hospital because an enlarged mediastinal shadow had been detected on chest x-ray. Chest computed tomography revealed a large mediastinal mass with multiple lymph node enlargement, pericardial effusion, and bilateral pleural effusion. He was diagnosed with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) based on a thoracoscopic tumor biopsy.

Clinical factors associated with viral shedding time of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Japan.

The Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 exhibits increased infectivity compared with all prior variants, and the timing of quarantine release should be carefully considered. However, to date, only two Chinese studies have analyzed the association between the viral shedding time (VST) and risk factors among patients infected with the Omicron variant. These studies included only limited numbers of severe cases and no analysis of underlying diseases and immunosuppressive drug use.

Combined Radiographic Features and Age Can Distinguish Pneumonia from Other Bacterial Pneumonias: Analysis Using the 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing Data.

The study objective was to evaluate chest radiographic features that distinguish Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) from other bacterial pneumonias diagnosed based on the bacterial floral analysis with 16S rRNA gene sequencing, using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples directly obtained from pneumonia lesions. Patients were grouped according to the dominant bacterial phenotype; among 120 enrolled patients with CAP, chest CT findings were evaluated in 55 patients diagnosed with a mono-bacterial infection (one bacterial phylotype occupies more than 80% of all phylotypes in a sample) by three authorized respiratory physicians. Among this relatively small sample size of 55 patients with CAP, 10 had MPP, and 45 had other bacterial pneumonia and were categorized into four groups according to their predominant bacterial phylotypes.

Effects of additive corticosteroid therapy on 90-day survival in patients with community-onset pneumonia.

Introduction: Systemic corticosteroid therapy is occasionally used as an additive therapy, especially for patients with severe pneumonia. However, its recommendation for use in patients with pneumonia varies worldwide, and its efficacy is unclear.

Methods: Adult Japanese patients hospitalized with community-onset pneumonia between January and December 2012 were analyzed using the Diagnostic Procedure Combination database.

Altered Polarization and Impaired Phagocytic Activity of Lung Macrophages in People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: People with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) have an increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: We phenotyped lung macrophages in 4 subgroups-M1 (CD40+CD163-), M2 (CD40-CD163+), double positives (CD40+CD163+), and double negatives and (CD40-CD163-)-and we determined their phagocytic capacity in PWH with and without COPD.

Results: People with human immunodeficiency virus with COPD have more double-negative macrophages (84.

Effects of Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-Acting β-Agonist Combination on the Airway Microbiome of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (DISARM).

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly prescribed with long-acting β-agonists (LABA) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To date, the effects of ICS therapy on the airway microbiome in COPD are unknown. To determine the effects of ICS/LABA on the airway microbiome of patients with COPD.

Macrophages with reduced expressions of classical M1 and M2 surface markers in human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid exhibit pro-inflammatory gene signatures.

The classical M1/M2 polarity of macrophages may not be applicable to inflammatory lung diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to the complex microenvironment in lungs and the plasticity of macrophages. We examined macrophage sub-phenotypes in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in 25 participants with CD40 (a M1 marker) and CD163 (a M2 marker). Of these, we performed RNA-sequencing on each subtype in 10 patients using the Illumina NextSeq 500.

Abundance of Non-Polarized Lung Macrophages with Poor Phagocytic Function in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Lung macrophages are the key immune effector cells in the pathogenesis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Several studies have shown an increase in their numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) of subjects with COPD compared to controls, suggesting a pathogenic role in disease initiation and progression. Although reduced lung macrophage phagocytic ability has been previously shown in COPD, the relationship between lung macrophages' phenotypic characteristics and functional properties in COPD is still unclear.

Macrophages-the immune effector guardians of the lung: impact of corticosteroids on their functional responses.

Lung macrophages (LMs) are key immune effector cells that protect the lung from inhaled particulate matter, noxious gases and pathogens. In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), there is an abundance of macrophages in airspaces and lung tissues suggesting that they play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Furthermore, macrophage phenotype and functional properties are altered in COPD toward a more pro-inflammatory state, characterized by reduced pathogen recognition and processing ability and dysfunctional tissue repair qualities.

Lung Macrophage Functional Properties in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is caused by the chronic exposure of the lungs to toxic particles and gases. These exposures initiate a persistent innate and adaptive immune inflammatory response in the airways and lung tissues. Lung macrophages (LMs) are key innate immune effector cells that identify, engulf, and destroy pathogens and process inhaled particles, including cigarette smoke and particulate matter (PM), the main environmental triggers for COPD.

Pulmonary Mycobacterium parascrofulaceum Infection in a Patient with Chronic Progressive Pulmonary Aspergillosis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

A 67-year-old man with a pulmonary cavity was admitted to our hospital. Mycobacterial culture of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid sample obtained from the right upper pulmonary lesion tested positive for mycobacterium, and sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes, hsp65, and rpoB revealed that the cultured mycobacterium was Mycobacterium parascrofulaceum. Treatment with antimycobacterial agents was ineffective, and repeated culturing of bronchoscopic specimens revealed that the specimens were positive for Aspergillus fumigatus.

Poor oral hygiene is associated with the detection of obligate anaerobes in pneumonia.

Background: Oral cavity is a reservoir of various respiratory pathogens, and poor oral hygiene is associated with an increase in anaerobic bacteria in oral cavity. In addition, it positively relates higher risk of developing pneumonia and increased pneumonia-related mortality. However, the association between poor oral hygiene and increase in obligate anaerobes in the lungs of pneumonia patients is unclear.

Distribution and annual changes in the proportion of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes in Japanese adults with pneumococcal pneumonia from 2011 to 2017.

In 2014, vaccinations with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) were implemented in Japan for all adults aged ≥65 years. We previously clarified reductions in the proportions of PCV7-, PCV13-, and PPSV23-covered serotypes in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia after the initiation of PCV7 and PCV13 vaccinations for Japanese children; however, information about the annual changes in the proportion of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia after the initiation of routine PPSV23 vaccinations remains unclear. We retrospectively studied 229 adults with pneumococcal pneumonia which S.

[Microbiology of Aspiration Pneumonia].

The number of patients with pneumonia has been increasing as the population ages, and most fatal pneumonia cases are the elderly with aspiration pneumonia. Although aspiration pneumonia leads to poor short- and long-term prognosis, there have been no practical ways to diagnose it precisely. Persistent subclinical aspiration without any subjective symptoms is problematic in clinical practice in patients with aspiration pneumonia, and physicians can only use aspiration risks such as brain infarction to diagnose aspiration pneumonia.