Severe Measles Infection: The Spectrum of Disease in 36 Critically Ill Adult Patients.

France has recently witnessed a nationwide outbreak of measles. Data on severe forms of measles in adults are lacking. We sought to describe the epidemiologic, clinical, treatment, and prognostic aspects of the disease in adult patients who required admission to an intensive care unit (ICU).

Cephalic versus oronasal mask for noninvasive ventilation in acute hypercapnic respiratory failure.

Objective: Compared to oronasal interfaces, a cephalic mask has a larger inner volume, covers the entire anterior surface of the face and limits the risk of deleterious cutaneous side effects during noninvasive ventilation (NIV). The present clinical study aimed to compare the clinical efficacy of a cephalic mask versus an oronasal mask in patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF).

Design And Setting: Randomized controlled study in a Respiratory Intermediate Care Unit.

Increased secretion of leukemia inhibitory factor by immature airway smooth muscle cells enhances intracellular signaling and airway contractility.

Airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC) play a major role in airway inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, and obstruction in asthma. However, very little is known regarding the relation between inflammatory mediators and cytokines and immature ASMC. The aim of this study was to evaluate 1) the secretion of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) (an IL-6 family neurotrophic cytokine) by ASMC; 2) intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) signaling; and 3) the effect of LIF on mast cell chemotaxis and rat airway contractility.