Extrafine Beclometasone Dipropionate/Formoterol NEXThaler on Device Usability, Adherence, Asthma Control and Quality of Life. A Panhellenic Prospective, Non-Interventional Observational Study in Patients with Asthma-The NEXT-Step Study.

Background: The fixed combination of extrafine beclometasone dipropionate 100 μg/formoterol 6 μg (extrafine BDP/F) delivered by NEXThaler has proved to be effective in patients with moderate-to-severe asthma in terms of lung function, symptoms and asthma control. The aim of this study was to investigate the usability/satisfaction of NEXThaler and adherence to treatment in asthma patients not well controlled by low-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).

Methods: This was a 6-month prospective, multicenter, open-label, observational study in 661 patients with asthma not well controlled by low-dose ICS according to the physician's clinical assessment, which have received regular treatment with extrafine BDP/F NEXThaler.

Clinical and Demographic Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life After Orthopedic Surgery With Implant Placement.

Background: Orthopedic surgeries can rehabilitate injuries and at the same time improve the patients' quality of life. The study aimed to assess patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL) six months after an orthopedic surgery with implant placement.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study with the use of a structured questionnaire among 103 patients was conducted.

Demographics, Treatment Patterns, and Morbidity in Patients with Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction: An Administrative Claims Data Analysis.

Purpose: Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is generally treated with short-acting β-agonists (SABA) before exercising, to prevent symptoms. Real-world data on treatments and outcomes for patients with EIB alone (EIB), or with asthma (EIB), in the USA are limited. This study compared demographics, treatment patterns, morbidity, and costs of treating EIB between these two groups of patients.

Ataxia with vitamin E deficiency in the Philippines : A case report of two siblings.

Here we report two siblings with ataxia and peripheral neuropathy. One patient showed head tremors. Genetic analysis revealed a mutation in the hepatic α-tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP) gene (TTPA) on chromosome 8q13.

Management of COVID-19 Patients in the Emergency Department.

COVID-19 is an emerging disease of global public health concern. As the pandemic overwhelmed emergency departments (EDs), a restructuring of emergency care delivery became necessary in many hospitals. Furthermore, with more than 2000 papers being published each week, keeping up with ever-changing information has proven to be difficult for emergency physicians.

Effect of Breathing Oxygen-Enriched Air on Exercise Performance in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension Due to Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial.

To evaluate the effects of breathing oxygen-enriched air (oxygen) on exercise performance in patients with pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF). Ten patients with PH-HFpEF (five women, age 60 ± 9 y, mPAP 37 ± 14 mmHg, PAWP 18 ± 2 mmHg, PVR 3 ± 3 WU, resting SpO 98 ± 2%) performed two-cycle incremental exercise tests (IET) and two constant-work-rate exercise test (CWRET) at 75% maximal work-rate ( ), each with ambient air (FiO 0.21) and oxygen (FiO 0.

Selpercatinib in RET fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (SIREN): a retrospective analysis of patients treated through an access program.

Introduction: Rearranged during transfection (RET) gene fusions are rare genetic drivers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Selective RET-inhibitors such as selpercatinib have shown therapeutic activity in early clinical trials; however, their efficacy in the real-world setting is unknown.

Methods: A retrospective efficacy and safety analysis was performed on data from RET fusion-positive NSCLC patients who participated in a selpercatinib access program (named patient protocol) between August 2019 and January 2021.

Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents.

Introduction: School-based tobacco control programs exhibit great variety. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an experiential learning smoking prevention program in facilitating knowledge acquisition, forging healthy attitudes, and decreasing intention to smoke.

Methods: A school-based intervention-control study was implemented during the 2016-2017 academic year among middle-school students in Athens, Greece.

Altered EEG markers of synaptic plasticity in a human model of NMDA receptor deficiency: Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Plasticity of synaptic strength and density is a vital mechanism enabling memory consolidation, learning, and neurodevelopment. It is strongly dependent on the intact function of N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors (NMDAR). The importance of NMDAR is further evident as their dysfunction is involved in many diseases such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, neurodevelopmental disorders, and epilepsies.

The first non-radiographic axial spondyloarthrits with COVID-19.

Background: Case report of a 21-year-old female developing non-radiographic axialspondyloarthritis in the setting of a preceding severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We felt this was a unique case as some cases of psoriatic arthropathy and reactive arthropathy but none, to our knowledge of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

Case Presentation: Twenty one-year-old female presented in June 2020 with inflammatory symptoms with general work-up per primary care provider being negative.

The presence of insomnia and depression contributes to the acceptance of an initial treatment trial of continuous positive airway pressure therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Unlabelled: The presence of comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea (COMISA) reduces the initial acceptance of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in 39-58% of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Depressive disorders are reported in 5 to 63% of patients with OSA. Here we studied the co-occurrence of depression and insomnia in OSA patients and its impact on treatment acceptance in a real-life controlled trial.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: What nurses need to know.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a restrictive lung disease in which the cause cannot be determined. This article discusses restrictive lung diseases that fall under the general category of interstitial lung disease with a focus on IPF-a fatal disease characterized by progressive fibrosis and interstitial pneumonia, dyspnea, and decreasing pulmonary function.

Health Disparities in Environmental and Occupational Lung Disease.

Pulmonary health disparities disproportionately impact disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. This article focuses on disparities in disease prevalence, morbidity, and mortality for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumoconiosis, and lung cancer. Disparities are categorized by race, age, sex, socioeconomic status, and geographic region.

Dual Bronchodilator in the Era of Triple Therapy.

Pharmacological medications used for the treatment of COPD patients have increased significantly. Long-acting bronchodilators have been recognized as the mainstay of the treatment of stable COPD, while ICS are usually added in patients with COPD who experience exacerbations, despite bronchodilator treatment. In the latest years, several studies have been published showing the beneficial effect of adding ICS on dual bronchodilation in patients suffering from more severe disease comparing triple therapy with several therapeutic regiments including dual bronchodilation and providing a message that this triple therapy might be more appropriate for COPD patients.

Lifetime Care of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have evolving sleep and respiratory pathophysiology over their lifetimes. Across the lifespan of DMD, various sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) have been described, including obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and nocturnal hypoventilation. In addition to SRBD, individuals with DMD can be affected by insomnia, chronic pain and other factors interfering with sleep quality, and daytime somnolence.

Short-acting bronchodilators purchase as a marker for asthma control.

: Administrative data has been used to quantify the amount of medication use in order to identify at-risk asthma patients. In our previous study we used short-acting beta-agonists (SABA) inhalers as a marker for asthma control.: We further analyzed patient data from the SABA inhalers study in which asthma control was classified by GINA guidelines, physician assessment and the patients overall estimation.

The US Strategic National Stockpile Ventilators in Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Comparison of Functionality and Analysis Regarding the Emergency Purchase of 200,000 Devices.

Background: Early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there was serious concern that the United States would encounter a shortfall of mechanical ventilators. In response, the US government, using the Defense Production Act, ordered the development of 200,000 ventilators from 11 different manufacturers. These ventilators have different capabilities, and whether all are able to support COVID-19 patients is not evident.

Inhaled Molgramostim Therapy in Autoimmune Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis.

Background: Autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP) is a rare disease characterized by progressive surfactant accumulation and hypoxemia. It is caused by disruption of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) signaling, which pulmonary alveolar macrophages require to clear surfactant. Recently, inhaled GM-CSF was shown to improve the partial pressure of arterial oxygen in patients with aPAP.

The experience-dependent increase in deep sleep activity is reduced in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Objective/background: Learning of a visuomotor adaptation task during wakefulness leads to a local increase in slow-wave activity (SWA, EEG power between 1 and 4.5 Hz) during subsequent deep sleep. Here, we examined this relationship between learning and SWA in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Expert consensus on the management of adverse events and prescribing practices associated with the treatment of patients taking pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a Delphi consensus study.

Background: In patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treated with pirfenidone (Esbriet®, Genentech USA, Inc. South San Francisco, CA.), effectively managing treatment-related adverse events (AEs) may improve adherence.

Community acquired pneumonia: a cost-of-illness analysis in Greece.

Introduction: Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an acute respiratory infection with high clinical and economic burden, especially when hospitalisation is required. The present study aimed to assess the mean direct cost per CAP outpatient and inpatient care in Greece, in the absence of previous estimates.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients at a tertiary hospital, treated between October 2015 and March 2016, was conducted.

Characterization of overnight slow-wave slope changes across development in an age-, amplitude-, and region-dependent manner.

Study Objectives: The restorative function of sleep has been linked to a net reduction in synaptic strength. The slope of slow-waves, a major characteristic of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, has been shown to directly reflect synaptic strength, when accounting for amplitude changes across the night. In this study, we aimed to investigate overnight slope changes in the course of development in an age-, amplitude-, and region-dependent manner.

Protocol for the EARCO Registry: a pan-European observational study in patients with α-antitrypsin deficiency.

Rationale And Objectives: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is a genetic condition that leads to an increased risk of emphysema and liver disease. Despite extensive investigation, there remain unanswered questions concerning the natural history, pathophysiology, genetics and the prognosis of the lung disease in association with AATD. The European Alpha-1 Clinical Research Collaboration (EARCO) is designed to bring together researchers from European countries and to create a standardised database for the follow-up of patients with AATD.

Efficacy of chemotherapy and atezolizumab in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer receiving antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors: pooled post hoc analyses of the OAK and POPLAR trials.

Background: Preclinical data have shown that proton pump inhibitors (PPI) can modulate the microbiome, and single-arm studies suggested that antibiotics (ATB) may decrease the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), but randomized controlled trial data are lacking. This pooled analysis evaluated the effect of ATB and PPI on outcome in patients randomized between ICI and chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective analysis used pooled data from the phase II POPLAR (NCT01903993) and phase III OAK (NCT02008227) trials, which included 1512 patients with previously treated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) randomly assigned to receive atezolizumab (n = 757) or docetaxel (n = 755).

Effect of Breathing Oxygen-Enriched Air on Exercise Performance in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Trial.

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience dyspnea and hypoxemia during exercise.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of breathing oxygen-enriched air on exercise performance and associated physiological changes in patients with COPD.

Methods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind, cross-over trial, 20 patients with COPD (11 women, age 65 ± 6 years, FEV1 64 ± 19% pred.