Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews - Volume 12, Issue 4, 2016

The introduction of electronic patient data capture platforms has led to an increase in the use of systems designed to predict and react to clinical deterioration. These systems capture clinical observations to calculate either single parameter, or aggregate weighted, track and trigger scores (also referred to as early warning scores). In this article, we examine the impact of early warning scores on management of patients wit Read More

Background: Cryptogenic organising pneumonia (COP) is an idiopathic pneumonic process featured by a high sensitivity to steroids, but also by a fairly high relapse rate. Accordingly, treatment needs to be protracted more than expected, leading to occurrence of side effects and need for therapeutic changes in many patients. There is an increasing evidence that long-term macrolides can effectively control disease in such Read More

Malignant Mesothelioma: Asbestos are naturally occurring fibrous silicate materials. It is well recognised that inhalation of asbestos fibres especially amphiboles is the most important risk factor for developing mesothelioma. The epidemiological models of association between the risks of asbestos and malignant mesothelioma take into consideration not only cumulative exposure but also time since first exposure. Current epidemiol Read More

The care of beta-thalassemia has improved dramatically over the last few decades mostly because of: i) improved blood transfusion regimens; ii) wide-spread use of deferoxamine; iii) surgical advances; and iv) allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Advanced healthcare standards, improved life expectancy, and complications specific to beta-thalassemia necessitate a renewed approach to the pulmonary Read More

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an asbestos-linked cancer associated with a very poor prognosis. Surgical interventions form an important aspect of the management of this aggressive form of cancer. However, debate continues regarding the different treatment options available. Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been the procedure of choice for the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma as big sam Read More

Among the pulmonary manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), rheumatoid nodules (RN) are frequent even if mostly asymptomatic. They are generally peripheral and different for sizes (up to 8 centimeter in diameter) and number (one or more). RN can be a consequence of RA or of the drugs used for RA. In the first case, they usually appear in patients with more aggressive and seropositive longstanding RA and are often Read More

Objective: Aging is associated with increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and treatment of OSA in elderly is of great interest but controversial. Pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is a leading cause of death in the elderly. The purpose of the study was to assess pneumonia-related mortality in elderly persons with OSA. Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) was investigated for di Read More