Publications by authors named "V van Kampen"
Background: Exposure-related changes in exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and sputum eosinophils have not been thoroughly compared in the investigation of occupational asthma.
Objective: This study aimed at comparing the accuracies of the changes in FeNO concentrations and sputum eosinophil counts in identifying asthmatic reactions induced by occupational agents during specific inhalation challenges (SICs).
Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included 321 subjects who completed an assessment of FeNO and sputum eosinophils before and 24 h after SICs with various occupational agents, of whom 156 showed a positive result.
Article Synopsis
- Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an uncommon lung allergy primarily caused by inhaling organic dusts, with rare instances linked to chemicals like phthalates found in plastics.
- A clinical case involving a cable production worker demonstrated that symptoms initially diagnosed as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis were linked to chronic HP resulting from exposure to phthalates, confirmed by specific IgG antibodies and other clinical findings.
- The study highlights the need for greater awareness of phthalates as potential triggers for occupational HP, as it has not been commonly recognized in previous case reports.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated the effectiveness of specific IgE (sIgE) testing for wheat and rye flour in diagnosing occupational asthma compared to a specific inhalation challenge (SIC), which is considered the gold standard.
- Results showed that sIgE levels of 0.35 kU/L or greater had similar diagnostic sensitivity and specificity to the SIC, but higher sIgE thresholds increased specificity significantly.
- The findings suggest that high sIgE levels can effectively indicate flour-induced occupational asthma, while low levels in patients with a positive SIC may correlate with lower T2 inflammatory biomarkers.
Introduction: During the first COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 in the Netherlands, the incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) appeared to be high in COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). This study was performed to evaluate the incidence of PE during hospital stay in COVID-19 patients not admitted to the ICU.
Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from 8 hospitals in the Netherlands.
We comment on the paper by Seibt and coworkers (Seibt2023) which investigates whether wearing an additional respiratory measurement mask during open-circuit spirometry assessments (respirometry mask) shows any effect on breathing pressure and perceived respiratory effort when wearing protective face masks commonly worn during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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