Predictors of early mortality after lung transplantation for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Lung transplantation remains an important therapeutic option for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), yet short-term survival is the poorest among the major diagnostic categories. We sought to develop a prediction model for 90-day mortality using the United Network for Organ Sharing database for adults with IPAH transplanted between 2005 and 2021. Variables with a  value ≤ 0.

Management of systemic to pulmonary shunts and elevated pulmonary vascular resistance.

Background: Repair of systemic to pulmonary shunts is timed to prevent the development of irreversible pulmonary vascular disease, including in patients with other factors contributing to pulmonary hypertension. This study assessed outcomes of an individualised strategy for managing patients with mild-moderately elevated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) deemed borderline eligible for repair.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients with systemic to pulmonary shunts and baseline indexed PVR (PVRi) ≥3 WU·m treated at a single centre from 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2019.

Changes in Body Mass Index in Children and Adolescents with Asthma during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Increased weight gain in children during the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported. Changes in weight in children with asthma during this period have not been well described. Retrospective review of children with asthma, 6-18 years of age, seen in 2019 and 2020.

The relationship between weight and pulmonary outcomes in overweight and obese people with cystic fibrosis: A retrospective observational study.

Background: A major focus in cystic fibrosis (CF) care aims to increase weight gain. Rates of overweight and obese people with CF have gradually increased over the past decade. Obesity could be a risk for restriction of lung volumes and airway obstruction as well as increase rates of pulmonary exacerbations in people with CF.

Vasoreactive phenotype in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension and syncope.

Background: Syncope in Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an independent predictor of poor prognosis in adults, but this is not well studied in children. We hypothesise that syncope in children with PAH often occurs in association with a reactive pulmonary vascular bed with sudden vasoconstriction in response to adverse stimuli. In the current study, we sought to determine the association of syncope with acute vasoresponsiveness and outcomes in children with Group 1 PAH.

Transcriptomic modifications in developmental cardiopulmonary adaptations to chronic hypoxia using a murine model of simulated high-altitude exposure.

Mechanisms driving adaptive developmental responses to chronic high-altitude (HA) exposure are incompletely known. We developed a novel rat model mimicking the human condition of cardiopulmonary adaptation to HA starting at conception and spanning the in utero and postnatal timeframe. We assessed lung growth and cardiopulmonary structure and function and performed transcriptome analyses to identify mechanisms facilitating developmental adaptations to chronic hypoxia.

Peak post-transplant lung function in bilateral lung transplant recipients using a prediction model based on donor and recipient demographic characteristics.

Rationale: There are no reliable methods to predict lung function following lung transplantation. We sought to devise a prediction model of peak pulmonary function testing (PFT) post-transplant based on donor and recipient demographic characteristics.

Methods: Single center retrospective analysis of bilateral lung transplant recipients between 2011 and 2015 without evidence of allograft dysfunction in the first year was performed.

Management of broncholithiasis.

Broncholithiasis is a condition in which calcified material has entered the tracheobronchial tree, at times causing airway obstruction and inflammation. Broncholiths generally originate as calcified material in mediastinal lymph nodes that subsequently erode into adjacent airways, often as a result of prior granulomatous infection. Disease manifestations range from asymptomatic stones in the airway to life-threatening complications, including massive hemoptysis and post-obstructive pneumonia.

A case report of hepatopulmonary syndrome in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT): Not all right-to-left shunting in HHT is due to pulmonary arteriovenous malformations.

Rationale: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by abnormal vessel growth that results in telangiectasias and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in the skin, mucosa, and viscera. Up to 30% of patients with HHT exhibit pulmonary AVMs (PAVMs), clinically manifesting as right-to-left shunting and hypoxemia.

Patient Concerns: We report an unusual and novel case of a patient with HHT who lacked clinical sequelae of portal hypertension but presented to clinic with hypoxemia without dyspnea.

Sphingolipid regulation of lung epithelial cell mitophagy and necroptosis during cigarette smoke exposure.

The mechanisms by which lung structural cells survive toxic exposures to cigarette smoke (CS) are not well defined but may involve proper disposal of damaged mitochondria by macro-autophagy (mitophagy), processes that may be influenced by pro-apoptotic ceramide (Cer) or its precursor dihydroceramide (DHC). Human lung epithelial and endothelial cells exposed to CS exhibited mitochondrial damage, signaled by phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) phosphorylation, autophagy, and necroptosis. Although cells responded to CS by rapid inhibition of DHC desaturase, which elevated DHC levels, palmitoyl (C16)-Cer also increased in CS-exposed cells.

A preliminary study of a cloud-computing model for chronic illness self-care support in an underdeveloped country.

Background: Although interactive voice response (IVR) calls can be an effective tool for chronic disease management, many regions of the world lack the infrastructure to provide these services.

Purpose: This study evaluated the feasibility and potential impact of an IVR program using a cloud-computing model to improve diabetes management in Honduras.

Methods: A single-group, pre-post study was conducted between June and August 2010.

The lowest-dose, extended-cycle combined oral contraceptive pill with continuous ethinyl estradiol in the United States: a review of the literature on ethinyl estradiol 20 μg/levonorgestrel 100 μg + ethinyl estradiol 10 μg.

Extended-cycle oral contraceptives (OCs) are increasing in popularity in the United States. A new extended-cycle OC that contains the lowest doses of ethinyl estradiol (EE) and levonorgestrel (LNG) + continuous EE throughout the cycle is now available. It provides 84 days of a low-dose, combined active pill containing levonorgestrel 100 μg and ethinyl estradiol 20 μg.

Nonmedical influences on the use of cholinesterase inhibitors in dementia care.

We examined primary care physicians' (PCPs) attitudes toward cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) to better understand nonmedical factors influencing prescribing decisions in dementia care. In a cross-sectional, qualitative study, 40 PCPs were interviewed concerning their general approach to managing patients with dementia, and their care for a particular dementia case. Three readers independently identified and categorized themes associated with prescribing ChEI.

Cervical cancer incidence in a prevaccine era in the United States, 1998-2002.

Objective: To report the incidence of cervical cancer by geography, race or ethnicity, and histology.

Methods: We examined combined data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program covering 87% of the U.S.