Clinical Efficacy and Safety of an Automatic Closed-Suction System in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with Pneumonia: A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized, Non-Inferiority, Investigator-Initiated Trial.

Endotracheal suctioning is an essential but labor-intensive procedure, with the risk of serious complications. A brand new automatic closed-suction device was developed to alleviate the workload of healthcare providers and minimize those complications. We evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of the automatic suction system in mechanically ventilated patients with pneumonia.

Factors related to lung function outcomes in critically ill COVID-19 patients in South Korea.

Background: New variants of the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continue to emerge. However, little is known about the effect of these variants on clinical outcomes. This study evaluated the risk factors for poor pulmonary lung function test (PFT).

Norterpene Cyclic Peroxides from the Marine Sponge , Inhibitors of Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1.

Bioassay-guided isolation of the extract from the marine sponge showing inhibitory activity against human transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (hTRPA1) resulted in the isolation of 12 norditerpene cyclic peroxides (-) and eight norsesterterpene cyclic peroxides (-). Among these, 10 (-, , , -) are unprecedented analogs. Compounds with either a hydroxy (, ) or a methoxy (, ) group attached to the cyclohexanone moiety were obtained as epimeric mixtures at C-11, while compounds , , , and are likely the artifacts of isolation.

Understanding the effects of Haemophilus influenzae colonization on bronchiectasis: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Bacterial colonization is an essential aspect of bronchiectasis. Although Haemophilus influenzae is a frequent colonizer in some regions, its clinical impacts are poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of H.

Supervised machine learning model to predict mortality in patients undergoing venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation from a nationwide multicentre registry.

Background: Existing models have performed poorly when predicting mortality for patients undergoing venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). This study aimed to develop and validate a machine learning (ML)-based prediction model to predict 90-day mortality in patients undergoing VV-ECMO.

Methods: This study included 368 patients with acute respiratory failure undergoing VV-ECMO from 16 tertiary hospitals across South Korea between 2012 and 2015.

Prospective, multicenter validation of the deep learning-based cardiac arrest risk management system for predicting in-hospital cardiac arrest or unplanned intensive care unit transfer in patients admitted to general wards.

Background: Retrospective studies have demonstrated that the deep learning-based cardiac arrest risk management system (DeepCARS™) is superior to the conventional methods in predicting in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). This prospective study aimed to investigate the predictive accuracy of the DeepCARS™ for IHCA or unplanned intensive care unit transfer (UIT) among general ward patients, compared with that of conventional methods in real-world practice.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter cohort study was conducted at four teaching hospitals in South Korea.

Real-world experience of adverse reactions-necessitated rifampicin-sparing treatment for drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis.

Rifampicin is an important agent for tuberculosis treatment; however, it is often discontinued because of adverse reactions. The treatment regimen then can be administered as that for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis, which can be toxic. We retrospectively reviewed 114 patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis who discontinued rifampicin due to adverse reactions during an 18 year period at a tertiary referral center, of which 92 (80.

Comparison of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy and transthoracic needle biopsy for diagnosing bronchus sign-positive pulmonary lesions.

Objectives: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is an advanced technique for diagnosing peripheral pulmonary lesions, and the bronchus sign is a well-established factor for improving the diagnostic performance. However, ENB is a novel technology compared to the commonly adopted transthoracic needle biopsy (TTNB). There are limited data on the comparison of these techniques for diagnosing bronchus sign-positive lesions.

Usefulness of the BACES score in nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease for various clinical outcomes.

A uniform prognostic marker is needed for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) due to the diverse clinical course. We aimed to seek the utility of the BACES score, originally derived to predict all-cause mortality, for various outcomes. To calculate the BACES score, one point was given for each of the following factors: body mass index < 18.

Association of Dexmedetomidine With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Critical Illness.

Importance: Dexmedetomidine is a widely used sedative in the intensive care unit (ICU) and has unique properties that may be associated with reduced occurrence of new-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF).

Objective: To investigate whether the use of dexmedetomidine is associated with the incidence of NOAF in patients with critical illness.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This propensity score-matched cohort study was conducted using the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-IV database, which includes records of patients admitted to the ICU at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston dating 2008 through 2019.

A prospective study on the long-term storage of sputum and the recovery of nontuberculous mycobacteria.

Background: There is little information on the optimal storage conditions for recovery of nontuberculous spp. (NTM) from refrigerated sputum.

Objectives: We investigated the storage duration that could increase the culture-positive rate of NTM isolates.

Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy Versus Radial Endobronchial Ultrasound for Diagnosing Lung Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Introduction: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) and radial endobronchial ultrasound (R-EBUS) are advanced imaging-guided bronchoscopy techniques for diagnosing pulmonary lesions. This study aimed to determine the comparative diagnostic yield of sole ENB and R-EBUS under moderate sedation.

Methods: We investigated 288 patients who underwent sole ENB (n=157) or sole R-EBUS (n=131) under moderate sedation for pulmonary lesion biopsy between January 2017 and April 2022.

Negative Conversion of Polymerase Chain Reaction and Clinical Outcomes according to the SARS-CoV-2 Variant in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing global public health threat and different variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been identified. This study aimed to analyse the factors associated with negative conversion of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and prognosis in critically ill patients according to the SARS-CoV-2 variant.

Methods: This study retrospectively analysed 259 critically ill patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary medical center between January 2020 and May 2022.

Correlation of monocyte counts with clinical outcomes in idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.

Higher blood monocyte counts are related to worse survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. However, studies evaluating the association between blood monocyte counts and clinical outcomes of idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (iNSIP) are lacking. We evaluated the impact of monocyte counts on iNSIP prognosis.

Comparative Efficacy of 14-Day Tegoprazan-Based Triple vs. 10-Day Tegoprazan-Based Concomitant Therapy for Eradication.

Tegoprazan, a novel potassium-competitive acid blocker, is currently available for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. We compared the efficacies of tegoprazan-based triple and concomitant therapies in a real-world practice. Data of patients treated with a 14-day tegoprazan-based triple therapy (50 mg of tegoprazan + 1000 mg of amoxicillin + 500 mg of clarithromycin twice daily) or 10-day tegoprazan-based concomitant therapy (50 mg of tegoprazan + 1000 mg of amoxicillin + 500 mg of clarithromycin + 500 mg of metronidazole twice daily) were retrospectively reviewed.

Impact of body weight change on clinical outcomes in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis receiving pirfenidone.

There have been limited studies on the association between prognosis and body weight change in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This single-center retrospective observational study evaluated the impact of weight loss on outcomes in Korean patients with IPF receiving pirfenidone at a tertiary medical institution. We analyzed 215 IPF patients prescribed pirfenidone from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2019.

The significance of elevated tumor markers among patients with interstitial lung diseases.

The clinical implication of using serum tumor markers in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) is inconclusive. In this retrospective study, we analyzed the data of 1176 subjects (294 with ILDs and 882 healthy controls). Eligible patients were who had at least one or more available tumor marker results [carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9, CA 125, and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)] with no evidence of malignancies or other benign diseases that could be related to the increasing concentration of the values.

Comprehensive Rehabilitation in Severely Ill Inpatients With COVID-19: A Cohort Study in a Tertiary Hospital.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effects of comprehensive rehabilitation management on functional recovery and examine the correlation between clinical parameters and improvements in functional outcomes in severe-to-critical inpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a tertiary hospital.

Methods: Post-acute COVID-19 patients who had a World Health Organization (WHO) ordinal scale of 5-7, underwent intensive care, and received comprehensive rehabilitation management, including exercise programs, nutritional support, dysphagia evaluation, and psychological care were included. The appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), Medical Research Council sum score, handgrip strength, number of repetitions in the 1-minute sit-to-stand test, gait speed, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC) were evaluated at hospital stay, discharge, and 1-month follow-up.

Evaluation of the synergistic impact of needle and forceps biopsy with electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy: the CONFIDENT-ENB trial design.

Background: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is an emerging advanced imaging-guided bronchoscopy technique for diagnosing peripheral lung lesions. However, the selection strategy for the optimal biopsy device and whether adopting a multi-tool strategy increases the diagnostic yield remains undetermined. The CONFIDENT-ENB trial (NCT05110131) is a prospective randomized study on ENB, performed in a least-invasive setting.

Impact of Preoperative Diagnostic Biopsy Procedure on Spread Through Airspaces and Related Outcomes in Resected Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: Tumor spread through airspaces (STAS) is a recently determined pathologic phenomenon of lung cancer with significant prognostic impact. This study aimed to analyze the unexplored correlation between preoperative biopsy procedure and a higher risk of STAS and its impact on STAS-related outcomes in resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Research Question: Does preoperative biopsy procedure affect the risk of STAS and STAS-related outcomes in surgically treated stage I NSCLC?

Study Design And Methods: We examined 2,169 patients who underwent surgery for pathologic stage I NSCLC from January 2011 through December 2019 at the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, a tertiary center in South Korea.

Utility and safety of sole electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy under moderate sedation for lung cancer diagnosis.

Background: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is an emerging technique for diagnosing pulmonary lesions. However, limited data is available on its sole utility under a least invasive setting without general anesthesia. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance and safety of sole ENB under moderate sedation for diagnosing pulmonary lesions suspicious for lung cancer and to determine clinical factors associated with a better diagnostic yield.

Incidence of preventable cardiopulmonary arrest in a mature part-time rapid response system: A prospective cohort study.

Background: The purpose of a rapid response system (RRS) is to reduce the incidence of preventable cardiopulmonary arrests (CPAs) and patient deterioration in general wards. The objective of this study is to investigate the incidence and temporal trends of preventable CPAs and determine factors associated with preventable CPAs in a hospital with a mature RRS.

Methods: This was a single-center prospective cohort study of all CPAs occurring in the general ward between March 2017 and June 2020.