Baseline FeNO as a prognostic biomarker for subsequent severe asthma exacerbations

In uncontrolled, moderate-to-severe asthma, higher baseline FeNO levels were associated with greater risk of severe asthma exacerbations, particularly in combination with elevated eosinophil count and prior exacerbations,... read more

Steer Clear of Magnesium for COPD

Knowingly or not, we in emergency medicine tend to lean into the Dutch hypothesis, a 1960s postulate that asthma and COPD are part of a spectrum of common disease (chronic obstructive lung disease), and should be considered... read more

Association Between Pre-Existing Respiratory Disease and COVID-19

Previous studies suggested that the prevalence of chronic respiratory disease in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 was lower than its prevalence in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess whether... read more

Expanding Post-Discharge Readmission Metrics in Patients with COPD

Of 1,384,025 hospitalizations, 11,304 encounters from 8097 patients met criteria to be index hospitalizations. Most index hospitalizations were inpatient hospitalizations (74.8%) versus observation hospitalizations (25.2%).... read more

Temporal Changes in the Epidemiology, Management, and Outcome from ARDS

The frequency of and outcome from ARDS remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2012. Plateau pressure > 29 cmH2O and driving pressure > 14 cmH2O on the first day of mechanical ventilation but not tidal volume > 8... read more

Prediction Model for Severe CAP among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is an independent risk factor for the development of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and associated with pneumonia-related hospitalization as well as mortality. Here, we assessed several selected biomarkers... read more

The voice of people living with COPD: what I learned from doing qualitative research

As a general respiratory physician, schooled in the clinical world of evidence-based medicine (EBM), I shared a common view that qualitative research was, well, flaky. Where was the science? The statistical significance?... read more

All Intensivists Are Not Created Equal

I’d like to preface this story by saying that the majority of the intensivists I have worked with have been exceptional, caring, and professional. We had all established a good camaraderie, and we had mutual respect for... read more

Asthma Among Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 and Related Outcomes

Among hospitalized patients 65 years or younger with severe COVID-19, asthma diagnosis was not associated with worse outcomes, regardless of age, obesity, or other high-risk comorbidities. Future population-based studies... read more

Critical Care / ICU, Fluids, Electrolytes and Nutrition

Filled with detailed work-ups, treatments, pearls, illustrations, differential diagnosis and references. Everything you ever needed to know about critical care and nutrition issues in an easy to read and navigate format created... read more

Critical Care / ICU, Fluids, Electrolytes and Nutrition

The Dyspnoea-inactivity Vicious Circle in COPD: Development and External Validation of a Conceptual Model

The vicious circle of dyspnoea-inactivity has been proposed, but never validated empirically, to explain the clinical course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We aimed to develop and validate externally... read more

Health Coaching to Increase Appropriate Inhaler Use in COPD

Health coaching may provide a scalable model that can improve care for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Baseline adherence and inhaler technique were uniformly poor and did not differ by... read more

Activin Type II Receptor Blockade for Treatment of Muscle Depletion in COPD

Blocking the action of negative muscle regulators through the activin type II receptors with bimagrumab treatment safely increased skeletal muscle mass but did not improve functional capacity in patients with COPD and low... read more

The Association of Clinical Variables and the Development of Specified Chronic Conditions in ICU Survivors

Clinical variables, especially the reason for ICU admission, are associated with the development of chronic conditions after ICU discharge. Therefore, these clinical variables should be considered when organizing follow-up... read more

Cognitive impairment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: disease burden, determinants and possible future interventions

Cognitive impairment (CI) is an important but an under-recognized extra-pulmonary feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is related to the burden of disability, worse health outcomes and impaired self-management.... read more

Climate Change, Global Warming, and Intensive Care

In the last five decades, human activities have resulted in the release of increasing quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, thus contributing to global climate change by additional heating of the atmosphere.... read more

Low-flow Assessment of Current ECMO/ECCO2R Rotary Blood Pumps and the Potential Effect on Hemocompatibility

The role of blood pumps in contributing to adverse effects at the lower blood flow rates used during ECCO2R is shown here to be significant. Current rotary blood pumps should be used with caution if operated at blood... read more

Intensivists’ Preferences for Patient Admission to ICU

ICU consultants vary in the importance they give to different factors in deciding who to prioritize for ICU admission. Transparency regarding which factors have been considered in the decision-making process could reduce... read more

Short-term vs. Conventional Glucocorticoid Therapy in Acute Exacerbations of COPD

In patients presenting to the emergency department with acute exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), 5-day treatment with systemic glucocorticoids was noninferior to 14-day treatment with regard to... read more

CDC Launches Investigation Into Surge Of Severe Lung Disease Cases Linked To Vaping

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating the sudden emergence of severe lung disease linked to vaping in 14 states. CDC is providing consultation to the departments of health in Wisconsin,... read more

Risk of Sepsis and Mortality Among Patients with COPD Treated With Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors or Angiotensin Receptor Blockers

Angiotensin receptor blockers were associated with lower rates of sepsis and mortality than angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The similar findings were also... read more

Randomized Controlled Trial of Health Coaching for Vulnerable Patients with COPD

These results help inform expectations regarding the limitations and benefits of health coaching for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). They may be useful to health policy experts in assessing the... read more