Characterization of the "Frequent Exacerbator Phenotype" in Bronchiectasis.

Rationale: Exacerbations are key events in the natural history of bronchiectasis, but clinical predictors and outcomes of patients with frequently exacerbating disease are not well described.

Objectives: To establish if there is a "frequent exacerbator phenotype" in bronchiectasis and the impact of exacerbations on long-term clinical outcomes.

Methods: We studied patients with bronchiectasis enrolled from 10 clinical centers in Europe and Israel, with up to 5 years of follow-up.

Nonpharmacologic Interventions for Improving Sleep Disturbances in Patients With Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Context: Lung cancer patients experience higher levels of sleep disturbances compared to other cancer patients, and this leads to greater distress, poorer function, and lower quality of life. Nonpharmacologic interventions have demonstrated improvements in the context of breast cancer, but their efficacy in the lung cancer population is unclear.

Objectives: The aim of this review was to determine the effects of any nonpharmacologic intervention on sleep quality of lung cancer patients.

Immunotherapy "Shock" with vitiligo due to nivolumab administration as third line therapy in lung adenocarcinoma.

Non-small cell lung cancer is still diagnosed at late stage due to the lack of early symptoms and methods of diagnostic prevention. In the past ten years several targeted therapies have been introduced or explored. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immunotherapy are currently considered the most effective and safe therapies in comparison to the non-specific cytotoxic agents.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells drive acute asthma exacerbations.

Background: Although acute exacerbations, mostly triggered by viruses, account for the majority of hospitalizations in asthmatic patients, there is still very little known about the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), prominent cells of antiviral immunity, exhibit proinflammatory or tolerogenic functions depending on the context, yet their involvement in asthma exacerbations remains unexplored.

Objectives: We sought to investigate the role of pDCs in allergic airway inflammation and acute asthma exacerbations.

Malignant pleural effusion from papillary thyroid carcinoma diagnosed by pleural effusion cytology: A case report.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is by far the most common thyroid malignancy (over 85%) of all the thyroid cancers. It has excellent prognosis and 10-year survival rate in most of the cases (95%). Most of the tumors are indolent and do not recur or metastasize after removal.

Investigational drugs in phase I and phase II clinical trials for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia.

Community acquired pneumonia is one of the main infections, remaining as a global cause of considerable morbidity and mortality. Successful treatment hinges on expedient delivery of appropriate antibiotic therapy tailored to both the likely pathogens and the severity of disease. Although antibiotic resistance is increasing and pharmaceutical companies continue to debate the profitability of introducing new antibacterial agents, an encouraging number of new molecules have recently been unveiled which target multidrug-resistant bacteria.

The role of non-invasive modalities for assessing inflammation in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Introduction: Bronchiectasis is a heterogeneous entity, taking into account clinical characteristics, inflammatory response, effectiveness of treatment and frequency of exacerbations. In stable state non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis, little is known about non-invasive techniques used for evaluating airway inflammation in obstructive airway diseases.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the associations between induced sputum and clinical/radiologic characteristics, and the differences between biomarkers expressing Th1 and Th2 response in patients with non-CF bronchiectasis and to compare our findings with a previously studied population of patients with asthma and COPD.

Point-prevalence survey of healthcare facility-onset healthcare-associated Clostridium difficile infection in Greek hospitals outside the intensive care unit: The C. DEFINE study.

Background: The correlation of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) with in-hospital morbidity is important in hospital settings where broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents are routinely used, such as in Greece. The C. DEFINE study aimed to assess point-prevalence of CDI in Greece during two study periods in 2013.

Nab-paclitaxel as First Line Treatment for NSCLC in Elderly Patients More Than 75 Years Old.

Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer among cancer patients. Although there are novel therapies as second line treatment for NSCLC, there is an issue for elderly patients. We collected retrospectively data from 60 patients >75 years of age.

"Liquid elbows" due to afatinib administration.

Non-small cell lung cancer adenocarcinoma in the past decade has targeted therapies as the cornerstone for therapy. In specific patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutation have three different therapy approaches with the tyrosine kinase inhibitors: erlotinib, gefitinib and afatinib. Nowadays we can use tyrosine kinase inhibitors as second line treatment for squamous cell carcinoma.

Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome are at High Risk Prior to the Event and Lipid Management is Underachieved Pre- and Post- Hospitalization.

Background: Current European Guidelines suggest the use of cardiovascular risk categories and also recommend using high-intensity statins for patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Objective: We examined the risk of ACS patients prior to the event, as well as the overall use and intensity of statins.

Methods: We enrolled 687 ACS patients (mean age 63 years, 78% males).

Pectus excavatum: Right ventricular compromise with orthostatic syndrome and Brugada phenocopy.

Pectus excavatum (PEXT) consists of an overgrowth of the chondral region with posterior displacement of the inferior part of the sternum, resulting in a concave chest deformity. Characteristic clinical and imaging findings may occur, depending on the compression that right cardiac chambers suffer, when squeezed between the sternum and the column vertebrae.

Investigation of bronchiectasis in severe uncontrolled asthma.

Introduction: The presence of bronchiectasis in patients with asthma varies in different reports, while a clear aetiological relation has not been precisely established.

Objectives: To investigate the presence of bronchiectasis in patients with severe uncontrolled asthma and examine whether they contribute to the severity of asthma.

Methods: Patients with severe asthma were prospectively recruited.

Tissue is the issue and tissue competition. Re-biopsy for mutation T790: where and why?

Lung cancer is still the leading cause of death among all cancers. During the last 15 years, pharmacogenomics of lung cancer have established targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) positive patients in adenocarcinoma or mixed adenosquamus lung cancer patients. However; while novel drugs are released in the market, at the same time novel mutations are observed after tyrosine kinase inhibitor administration.

A patient with situs inversus totalis and lung cancer-a rare combination.

Situs inversus totalis (SIT) is a rare clinical entity which is characterized by a complete reverse anatomy of the thoracic cage and abdomen. There are a few reports of patients with SIT and lung cancer. The number of the cases that have been treated surgically is also very small.