Treatment burden experienced by patients with obstructive sleep apnoea using continuous positive airway pressure therapy.

Background: Little is known about the treatment burden experienced by patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) who use continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.

Participants: 18 patients (33.3% males, mean age 59.

Short-term physical health effects of sleep disruptions attributed to the acute hospital environment: a systematic review.

The sleep disruption experienced by patients admitted to hospital may have a negative effect on health but the nature and magnitude of the effect has not been conclusively outlined. The review was designed to examine the impact of sleep disruption associated with being a hospital inpatient, on short-term physical health outcomes in adult patients. Searches comprised journal databases, gray literature sources, and backward and forward citation searching.

Is bronchoscopy essential for pulmonary infections in patients with haematological malignancies?

https://bit.ly/35MKy1Y.

COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA): An Australian case report.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has developed, concern for invasive fungal infections in critically ill COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has emerged. We describe a clinical case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) associated pulmonary aspergillus (CAPA) infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with a good clinical outcome, in a previously well, non-immunocompromised Australian woman.

Prevalence and factors associated with advanced care directives in a motor neuron disease multidisciplinary clinic in Australia.

Objectives: Motor neuron disease (MND) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to functional decline and death. Multidisciplinary MND clinics provide an integrated approach to management and facilitate discussion on advanced care directives (ACDs). The study objectives are to analyse (1) the prevalence of ACD in our MND clinic, (2) the relationship between ACD and patient demographics and (3) the relationship between ACD decision-making and variables such as NIV, PEG, hospital admissions and location of death.

Patient satisfaction with sleep study experience: findings from the Sleep Apnea Patient-Centered Outcomes Network.

Study Objectives: Home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) is increasingly used as an alternative to laboratory-based polysomnography (PSG) for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. Patient satisfaction with sleep testing performed at home or in the lab has been sparsely assessed, despite its potentially pivotal role in determining patients' acceptance of sleep apnea treatment. We hypothesize that satisfaction in clinical practice may differ from what has been previously reported within the research setting.

Patient Partnerships Transforming Sleep Medicine Research and Clinical Care: Perspectives from the Sleep Apnea Patient-Centered Outcomes Network.

Due to an ongoing recent evolution in practice, sleep medicine as a discipline has been compelled to respond to the converging pressures to reduce costs, improve outcomes, and demonstrate value. Patient "researchers" are uniquely placed to participate in initiatives that address the specific needs and priorities of patients and facilitate the identification of interventions with high likelihood of acceptance by the "customer." To date, however, the "patient voice" largely has been lacking in processes affecting relevant policies and practice guidelines.

Attitudes towards preventive tuberculosis treatment among hospital staff.

Background. Healthcare workers have an increased risk of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), but previous studies suggested that they might be reluctant to accept preventive tuberculosis (TB) treatment. We aimed to examine doctors' and nurses' experience of TB screening and to explore their attitudes towards preventive TB treatment.

Epidemiology of Peripheral Lymph Node Tuberculosis and Genotyping of M. tuberculosis Strains: A Case-Control Study.

Background: This study examined potential risk factors of lymph node tuberculosis (LNTB), including phylogenetic lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), in comparison to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in a setting with an ethnically diverse population.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study at a major tuberculosis clinic in Sydney, Australia, which included all patients with peripheral LNTB seen at the clinic between 2000 and 2012. Controls were randomly selected patients with PTB seen at the same clinic during the study period.

Endobronchial deposits of chronic lymphocytic leukemia - an unusual cause of central airway obstruction.

A 66-year-old woman with a background of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was admitted to the hospital on several occasions with recurrent episodes of community-acquired pneumonia. Computed tomography and bronchoscopy revealed multiple obstructing endobronchial polyps. Post-obstructive pneumonia together with immunoglobulin G deficiency was considered the most likely cause of these recurrent infections.

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma complicated by invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: a rare presentation.

We describe a patient with persisting fevers, a progressive pulmonary infiltrate, and high levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase. No underlying cause for these changes was found prior to her death despite extensive investigations. Postmortem tissue revealed invasive pulmonary aspergillosis and subsequent brain examination revealed vascular changes in keeping with intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL).

Susceptibility to acute rheumatic fever based on differential expression of genes involved in cytotoxicity, chemotaxis, and apoptosis.

It is unknown why only some individuals are susceptible to acute rheumatic fever (ARF). We investigated whether there are differences in the immune response, detectable by gene expression, between individuals who are susceptible to ARF and those who are not. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 15 ARF-susceptible and 10 nonsusceptible (control) adults were stimulated with rheumatogenic (Rh+) group A streptococci (GAS) or nonrheumatogenic (Rh-) GAS.

Challenging perceptions of non-compliance with rheumatic fever prophylaxis in a remote Aboriginal community.

Aim: To identify factors that affect rheumatic fever prophylaxis for remote-living Aboriginal patients, and to determine the proportion who received adequate prophylaxis.

Design And Setting: Interview (with analysis based on principles of grounded theory) of patients with a history of rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease and their relatives, and health service providers in a remote Aboriginal community; audit of benzathine penicillin coverage of patients with rheumatic heart disease.

Participants: 15 patients with rheumatic heart disease or a history of rheumatic fever, 18 relatives and 18 health care workers.

B-cell antigen D8/17 is a marker of rheumatic fever susceptibility in Aboriginal Australians and can be tested in remote settings.

Objective: To test the B-cell antigen D8/17 as a marker of past rheumatic fever (RF) in a predominantly Aboriginal Australian population, and to evaluate technical modifications to allow its use in remote settings.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional survey in a remote Aboriginal community, a regional tertiary referral hospital and a tertiary paediatric centre in Melbourne.

Participants: 106 people, including three with acute RF, 38 with a history of past RF, 20 relatives of these people, and 45 healthy controls.

Variations in the protective immune response against streptococcal superantigens in populations of different ethnicity.

Superantigens (SAgs) from group A streptococcus (GAS) are potent T cell mitogens, and have been suggested to play a role in severe streptococcal disease. Neutralizing antibodies protect against SAg-mediated disease and their levels should therefore be inversely related to severe streptococcal infection. Neutralizing anti-SAg titers in patients with severe GAS infection and patients without disease were compared in two separate groups.