Implications of the 2022 lung function update and GLI global reference equations among patients with interstitial lung disease.

Background: Lung function testing remains a cornerstone in the assessment and management of interstitial lung disease (ILD) patients. The clinical implications of the Global Lung function Initiative (GLI) reference equations and the updated interpretation strategies remain uncertain.

Methods: Adult patients with ILD with baseline forced vital capacity (FVC) were included from the Australasian ILD registry and the National Healthcare Group ILD registry, Singapore.

Quantitative Analysis of Lung Shape in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Insights Into Disease- and Age-Associated Patterns.

Rationale And Objectives: Fibrotic scarring in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) typically develops first in the posterior-basal lung tissue before advancing to involve more of the lung. The complexity of lung shape in the costo-diaphragmatic region has been proposed as a potential factor in this regional development. Intrinsic and disease-related shape could therefore be important for understanding IPF risk and its staging.

Role of screening for uveitis in subjects with sarcoidosis.

Background And Objectives: Ocular involvement is common in sarcoidosis. Our study aimed to evaluate the role of screening for uveitis in subjects with sarcoidosis.

Methods: Retrospective case series of 88 subjects with a pre-existing diagnosis of sarcoidosis, with no previous diagnosis of uveitis, reviewed by Ophthalmology at Auckland District Health Board between January 2016 and May 2022.

Treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and progressive pulmonary fibrosis: A position statement from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand 2023 revision.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease leading to significant morbidity and mortality. In 2017 the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) and Lung Foundation Australia (LFA) published a position statement on the treatment of IPF. Since that time, subsidized anti-fibrotic therapy in the form of pirfenidone and nintedanib is now available in both Australia and New Zealand.

Evaluating Tissue Heterogeneity in the Radiologically Normal-Appearing Tissue in IPF Compared to Healthy Controls.

Rationale And Objectives: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease characterised by heterogeneously distributed fibrotic lesions. The inter- and intra-patient heterogeneity of the disease has meant that useful biomarkers of severity and progression have been elusive. Previous quantitative computed tomography (CT) based studies have focussed on characterising the pathological tissue.

Inhaled pirfenidone solution (AP01) for IPF: a randomised, open-label, dose-response trial.

Introduction: Oral pirfenidone reduces lung function decline and mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Systemic exposure can have significant side effects, including nausea, rash, photosensitivity, weight loss and fatigue. Reduced doses may be suboptimal in slowing disease progression.

Pulmonary vessel volume in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis compared with healthy controls aged > 50 years.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterised by progressive fibrosing interstitial pneumonia with an associated irreversible decline in lung function and quality of life. IPF prevalence increases with age, appearing most frequently in patients aged > 50 years. Pulmonary vessel-like volume (PVV) has been found to be an independent predictor of mortality in IPF and other interstitial lung diseases, however its estimation can be impacted by artefacts associated with image segmentation methods and can be confounded by adjacent fibrosis.

Sex- and Race-Based Differences in the Treatment of Interstitial Lung Diseases in North America and Australasia.

Background: Biological sex, gender, and race are important considerations in patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs).

Research Question: Does a patient's sex assigned at birth, and race, influence ILD treatment initiation?

Study Design And Methods: Patients with ILD from three longitudinal prospective registries were compared in this observational study. ILD-related medications included antifibrotics and immunomodulating medications.

A computational model of contributors to pulmonary hypertensive disease: impacts of whole lung and focal disease distributions.

Pulmonary hypertension has multiple etiologies and so can be difficult to diagnose, prognose, and treat. Diagnosis is typically made via invasive hemodynamic measurements in the main pulmonary artery and is based on observed elevation of mean pulmonary artery pressure. This static mean pressure enables diagnosis, but does not easily allow assessment of the severity of pulmonary hypertension, nor the etiology of the disease, which may impact treatment.

Systemic Associations of Sarcoid Uveitis: Correlation With Uveitis Phenotype and Ethnicity.

Purpose: To examine systemic associations of sarcoid uveitis and association with uveitis clinical phenotype and ethnicity.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Subjects: A total of 362 subjects with definite or presumed sarcoid uveitis from Moorfields Eye Hospital, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear, and Auckland District Health Board.

Connectivity in one-dimensional soft random geometric graphs.

In this paper, we study the connectivity of a one-dimensional soft random geometric graph (RGG). The graph is generated by placing points at random on a bounded line segment and connecting pairs of points with a probability that depends on the distance between them. We derive bounds on the probability that the graph is fully connected by analyzing key modes of disconnection.

Diagnosis and management of connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease in Australia and New Zealand: A position statement from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Pulmonary complications in CTD are common and can involve the interstitium, airways, pleura and pulmonary vasculature. ILD can occur in all CTD (CTD-ILD), and may vary from limited, non-progressive lung involvement, to fulminant, life-threatening disease. Given the potential for major adverse outcomes in CTD-ILD, accurate diagnosis, assessment and careful consideration of therapeutic intervention are a priority.