Histopathological significance of connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease in transbronchial lung cryobiopsy specimens.

Differentiating between idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) and secondary interstitial pneumonia, particularly connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD), can be challenging histopathologically, and there may be discrepancies among pathologists. While surgical lung biopsy has traditionally been considered the gold standard for diagnosing interstitial pneumonia, the usefulness of transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) has been reported. If TBLC could effectively distinguish between primary and secondary diseases, it would provide a less invasive option for patients.

Intravascular Large B-cell Lymphoma Presenting as Pulmonary Ground-glass Nodules That Progressed Slowly over Several Months with No Overt Symptoms.

A 74-year-old man with no overt symptoms was referred for a chest computed tomography (CT) that revealed multiple bilaterally pulmonary ground-glass nodules (GGNs) with subtle changes in size over eight months. Surgical lung biopsies were performed in the left upper lobe. A pathologic study confirmed the intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL).

The efficacy and safety of additional treatment with short-acting muscarinic antagonist combined with long-acting beta-2 agonist in stable patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The rationale for additional treatment with short-acting bronchodilators combined with long-acting bronchodilators for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not adequately studied.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a short-acting muscarinic antagonist (SAMA) therapy combined with a long-acting beta-2 agonist (LABA) in patients with stable COPD. Pulmonary function, dyspnea, health-related quality of life, exercise tolerance, physical activity, exacerbations of COPD, and adverse events during regular use were set as outcomes of interest.

Clinical Impact of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Patients with Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease and Role of Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis.

Objective Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is an important complication of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). However, its diagnosis is challenging, as both CPA and NTM-PD present as chronic cavitary disease. The present study evaluated the impact of CPA on the survival of patients with NTM-PD and revealed the key computed tomography findings for a prompt diagnosis.

Clinical characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis patients complicated with pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial disease: A cross-sectional case series study.

Objectives: Pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial disease (pNTM) is a common pulmonary complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but their association has rarely been researched. We aimed to reveal the clinical characteristics of RA with pNTM.

Methods: Among all the RA patients who visited Tenri hospital from April 2017 to March 2018, we enrolled those fulfilling the 2007 ATS/IDSA diagnostic criteria of pNTM, and sex- and age- matched control group at a ratio of 1:5.

Prediction of forced vital capacity with dynamic chest radiography in interstitial lung disease.

Purpose: The pulmonary function test (PFT) has played an essential role in diagnosing and managing interstitial lung disease (ILD) but has its contraindications and difficult conditions to perform. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate dynamic chest radiography (DCR) ability to predict forced vital capacity (FVC) and other PFT parameters of ILD patients.

Method: The prospective observational study included 97 patients who underwent DCR at Tenri Hospital (Tenri, Japan) between June 2019 and April 2020.

Rapid Improvement of Severe Pulmonary Hypertension Due to Scoliosis-related Restrictive Ventilatory Disorder.

Few reports have highlighted the serial changes in pulmonary hypertension during respiratory management. An 18-year-old girl with severe scoliosis was referred to our hospital for worsening dyspnea on exertion. Based on chest X-ray and transthoracic echocardiography findings showing a tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient (TRPG) of 64 mmHg, the patient was diagnosed with severe alveolar hypoventilation due to thoracic deformity and severe pulmonary hypertension.

A case report of pulmonary Botrytis sp. infection in an apparently healthy individual.

Background: Botrytis species are well known fungal pathogens of various plants but have not been reported as human pathogens, except as allergenic precipitants of asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Case Presentation: The asymptomatic patient was referred because of a nodule revealed by chest X-ray. Computed tomography (CT) showed a cavitary nodule in the right upper lobe of the lung.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type IV with Bilateral Pneumothorax.

A 17-year-old teen was hospitalized with bilateral pneumothorax. After the bilateral lungs were expanded using catheter tubes, he fully recovered and he was discharged from our hospital. He had a history of colon perforation.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria in diffuse panbronchiolitis.

Background And Objective: Nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease secondary to cystic fibrosis (CF) has been reported, but there is limited data about NTM prevalence in non-CF bronchiectasis. We retrospectively investigated the prevalence of NTM associated with diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB), a disorder also characterized by reduced mucociliary clearance with bronchiectasis.

Methods: We reviewed mycobacterial cultures, patient characteristics and computed tomography findings of 33 patients with DPB between January 2000 and December 2012.

Reanalysis of the Japanese experience using the combined COPD assessment of the 2011 GOLD classification.

Background: The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2011 consensus report proposed a new classification system, incorporating symptoms with future risk, in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We hypothesized it could be applied to Japanese COPD patients.

Methods: We previously analyzed clinical factors related to 5-year mortality in 150 male outpatients with COPD.

[An analysis of the correlation between guidelines-concordant treatment and the treatment outcome on nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia patients].

Background: The nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia (NHCAP) guidelines recommend broad-spectrum antibiotics usage when the presence of multidrug resistant pathogens is anticipated. However, it has not been proved that guidelines-concordant treatment improves the outcome.

Purpose: To clarify the impact of guidelines-concordant treatment on the outcome of NHCAP patients.

Analysis of longitudinal changes in dyspnea of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an observational study.

Background: Guidelines recommend that symptoms as well as lung function should be monitored for the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, limited data are available regarding the longitudinal change in dyspnea, and it remains unknown which of relevant measurements might be used for following dyspnea.

Methods: We previously consecutively recruited 137 male outpatients with moderate to very severe COPD, and followed them every 6 months for 5 years.

Predictive properties of different multidimensional staging systems in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is considered to be a respiratory disease with systemic manifestations. Some multidimensional staging systems, not based solely on the level of airflow limitation, have been developed; however, these systems have rarely been compared.

Methods: We previously recruited 150 male outpatients with COPD for an analysis of factors related to mortality.

Respiratory failure of Williams-Campbell syndrome is effectively treated by noninvasive positive pressure ventilation.

Williams-Campbell syndrome is a rare disease, characterized by a congenital deficiency of cartilage in the fourth to sixth order bronchi, leading to chronic respiratory failure with recurrent pulmonary infections. An effective and practical treatment has not yet been established. A 31-year-old man who was diagnosed as Williams-Campbell syndrome by inspiratory and expiratory computed tomography findings developed recurrent pulmonary infections and showed progressive deterioration of dyspnea.

Multidimensional analyses of long-term clinical courses of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic respiratory disorders involving obstructive airway defects. There have been many discussions on their similarities and differences. Although airflow limitation expressed as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) has been considered to be the main diagnostic assessment in both diseases, it does not reflect the functional impairment imparted to the patients by these diseases.

Successful chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer in an elderly patient undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

A standard treatment has not yet been established for elderly small-cell lung cancer patients, especially when they have end-stage renal disease. We report the first case of successful chemoradiotherapy in an elderly small-cell lung cancer patient undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. A 77-year-old Japanese man on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis was diagnosed as having limited disease small-cell lung cancer.

Effect of exacerbations on health status in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Acute exacerbations may cause deteriorations in the health status of subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present study prospectively evaluated the effects of such exacerbations on the health status and pulmonary function of subjects with COPD over a 6-month period, and examined whether those subjects showed a steeper decline in their health status versus those subjects without exacerbations.

Methods: A total of 156 subjects with COPD (mean age 71.

[Qualitative analysis of interns' decision-making process of selecting respiratory medicine as their specialty].

Background: Because there is a shortage of pulmonologists in Japan, it is crucial to understand interns' decision-making process of selecting respiratory medicine as their specialty.

Objective: The objectives of the study were to illustrate the process in which residents pursue the specialty of respiratory medicine and to establish a strategic springboard that may encourage more residents to select respiratory medicine as their specialty.

Methods: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was performed.

Comparison of health-related quality of life measurements using a single value in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Three methods have been developed to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) expressed as a single value: the global rating scale, the total score obtained from disease-specific instruments, and the preference-based utility index. We compared these different single HRQoL measurements in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We recruited 167 patients with asthma and 161 patients with COPD.

Analysis of longitudinal changes in the psychological status of patients with asthma.

Significant relationships between the psychological status and poor asthma outcomes are often reported. However, most of these studies are cross-sectional and none have evaluated how the psychological status progresses over time during the management of asthma patients. Therefore, we examined the longitudinal changes in the psychological status of asthma patients, and compared them with changes in other clinical measurements.

[Characteristics of asthma patients who need repeated hospitalization; frequency of use of systemic corticosteroids, emergency and unscheduled hospital visits and habitual use of sleeping pills].

Background: This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of frequently hospitalized patients.

Methods: The clinical characteristics of 310 cases having hospitalization episodes (206 patients) for asthma attack analyzed retrospectively based on their clinical records.

Results: Nineteen out of the 206 patients were hospitalized more than just three times during the study period.

Longitudinal deteriorations in patient reported outcomes in patients with COPD.

Goals of effective management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include relieving their symptoms and improving their health status. We examined how such patient reported outcomes would change longitudinally in comparison to physiological outcomes in COPD. One hundred thirty-seven male outpatients with stable COPD were recruited for the study.

Dyspnoea with activities of daily living versus peak dyspnoea during exercise in male patients with COPD.

Dyspnoea measurements in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be broadly divided into two categories: those that assess breathlessness during exercise, and those that assess breathlessness during daily activities. We investigated the relationships between dyspnoea at the end of exercise and during daily activities with clinical measurements and mortality in COPD patients. We examined 143 male outpatients with moderate to very severe COPD.