Background: Dual bronchodilator therapy, consisting of a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA), has proven effective for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, it remains uncertain whether there are efficacy differences between current and former smokers with COPD. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of LABA/LAMA therapies in both these groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpen Forum Infect Dis
August 2024
Background: Airflow obstruction is a hallmark of disease severity and prognosis in bronchiectasis. The relationship between lung microbiota, airway inflammation, and outcomes in bronchiectasis with fixed airflow obstruction (FAO) remains unclear. This study explores these interactions in bronchiectasis patients, with and without FAO, and compares them to those diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Med Res
May 2024
Background: To revisit the association between vitamin D deficiency (VDD, defined as serum 25(OH)D < 20 ng/ml) and incident active tuberculosis (TB), after two potentially underpowered randomized trials showed statistically non-significant 13%-22% decrease in TB incidence in vitamin D supplementation groups.
Methods: We prospectively conducted an age/sex-matched case-control study that accounting for body-mass index (BMI), smoking, and other confounding factors to examine the association between VDD and active TB among non-HIV people in Taiwan (latitude 24°N), a high-income society which continues to have moderate TB burden.
Results: We enrolled 62 people with incident active TB and 248 people in control group.
Purpose: The treatment advantage of guideline-based therapy (GBT) in Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD) is well-known. However, GBT is not always feasible. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship of treatment regimens and duration with outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis
July 2023
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease characterized by airway limitation and changes in airway structure. It has a high global burden of mortality and morbidity. The etiology of COPD is complex, but exposure to tobacco smoke and other inhaled lung oxidants are major risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Molnupiravir (MOL) is an oral antiviral medication that has recently been treated for COVID-19.
Objectively: We perform a prospective and observational study to elucidate the efficacy and safety of MOL in healthcare patients with COVID-19.
Materials And Methods: A observational, non-randomized study of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in 46 healthcare facilities and treated with MOL started within 5 days after the onset of signs or symptoms.
Management of patients with asthma during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a concern, especially since asthma predisposes patients to respiratory problems. Interestingly, asthma characterized by type 2 inflammation, also known as T-helper type 2-high endotype, displays a cellular and molecular profile that may confer protective effects against COVID-19. The results of experimental and clinical studies have established the actions of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in inducing airway hyperreactivity and weakening an interferon-mediated antiviral response following respiratory viral infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis
March 2022
Background And Aim: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is frequently underdiagnosed because of the unavailability of spirometers, especially in resource-limited outpatient settings. This study provides real-world evidence to identify optimal approaches for COPD case finding in outpatient settings.
Methods: This retrospective study enrolled individuals who were at risk of COPD (age ≥40 years, ≥10 pack-years, and ≥1 respiratory symptom).
Background: The incidence of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTM-LD) is increasing worldwide. Immune exhaustion has been reported in NTM-LD, but T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM3), a co-inhibitory receptor on T cells, has been scarcely studied.
Methods: Patients with NTM-LD and healthy controls were prospectively recruited from July 2014 to August 2019 at three tertiary referral centers in Taiwan.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous and complex disorder. In this review, we provided a comprehensive overview of biomarkers involved in COPD, and potential novel biological therapies that may provide additional therapeutic options for COPD. The complex characteristics of COPD have made the recommendation of a generalized therapy challenging, suggesting that a tailored, personalized strategy may lead to better outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis
November 2021
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has also imposed a substantial economic and social burden on the health care system. In Taiwan, a nationwide COPD pay-for-performance (P4P) program was designed to improve the quality of COPD-related care by introducing financial incentives for health care providers and employing a multidisciplinary team to deliver guideline-based, integrated care for patients with COPD, reducing adverse outcomes, especially COPD exacerbation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsthma is a heterogeneous respiratory disease characterized by usually reversible bronchial obstruction, which is clinically expressed by different phenotypes driven by complex pathobiological mechanisms (endotypes). In recent years several molecular effectors and signaling pathways have emerged as suitable targets for biological therapies of severe asthma, refractory to standard treatments. Indeed, various therapeutic mono-clonal antibodies currently allow one to intercept at different levels the chain of pathogenic events leading to type 2 (T2) airway inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To understand the association between biomarkers and exacerbations of severe asthma in adult patients in Taiwan.
Materials And Methods: Demographic, clinical characteristics and biomarkers were retrospectively collected from the medical charts of severe asthma patients in six hospitals in Taiwan. Exacerbations were defined as those requiring asthma-specific emergency department visits/hospitalizations, or systemic steroids.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has significant contributions to morbidity and mortality world-wide. Early symptoms of COPD are not readily distinguishable, resulting in a low rate of diagnosis and intervention. Different guidelines and recommendatations for the diagnosis and treatment of COPD exist globally.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effectiveness and safety of fixed dual long-acting bronchodilators for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients have been well established; however, there is a paucity of clinical effectiveness comparison in patients with COPD treatment. The aim of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of three once-daily dual bronchodilator agents in patients with COPD. Patients with diagnosed COPD and treated with a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) + long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) fixed-dose combination therapy (UME/VIL (umeclidinium and vilanterol inhalation powder), IND/GLY (indacaterol and glycopyrronium), and TIO/OLO (tiotropium and olodaterol)) were enrolled in this retrospective study over a period of 12 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnostics (Basel)
June 2021