Introduction: COVID-19 is an international public health crisis with more than 132 million infections worldwide. Beyond acute infection, emerging data indicate patients diagnosed with COVID-19 may experience persistent sequelae similar to survivors of sepsis or acute respiratory syndromes, including mobility limitations and fatigue. However, there is limited evidence on the trajectory of functional recovery in those hospitalised with COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypothesis: There is limited data on the care and outcomes of individuals with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer, particularly in advanced disease. We hypothesized such patients would receive less cancer treatment and have worse outcomes.
Methods: We analyzed administrative data from the province of Ontario including demographics, hospitalization records, physician billings, cancer diagnosis, and treatments.
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are associated diseases. COPD is underdiagnosed and thus undertreated, but there is limited data on COPD diagnosis in the setting of lung cancer. We assessed the diagnosis of COPD with lung cancer in a large public healthcare system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In cystic fibrosis (CF), omalizumab has been used for difficult-to-treat asthma and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) but safety and efficacy data are limited for this population.
Methods: We assessed patients receiving omalizumab for asthma or ABPA in the Toronto adult CF center between 2005 and 2017. We evaluated treatment safety and efficacy by analyzing changes in FEV% predicted (FEVpp) max value, slope and variability captured by the area under the curve (AUC), the cumulative dose of systemic corticosteroids (SCS), use of intravenous (IV) antibiotics and hospitalization days before omalizumab and up to 1 year after treatment initiation.
Purpose Of Review: Tracking patient outcomes using cystic fibrosis (CF) national data registries, we have seen a dramatic improvement in patient survival. As there are multiple ways to measure survival, it is important for readers to understand these different metrics in order to clearly translate this information to patients and their families. The aims of this review were to describe measures of survival and to review the recent literature pertaining to survival in CF to capture the changing epidemiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Advance care planning (ACP) can result in end-of-life care that is more congruent with patients' values and preferences. There is increasing interest in video decision aids to assist with ACP. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of video decision aids on patients' preferences regarding life-sustaining treatments (primary outcome).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe the case of a 29-year-old woman with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) complicated by multiple cerebral infarcts. Current treatment of PPCM is reviewed with a focus on the role of anticoagulation in PPCM.
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