Pulmonary Therapy最新文献

Despite the latest developments in therapeutic agents targeting airway endotypes, a significant proportion of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain symptomatic. Endoscopic therapies have a complementary role in the management of these airway diseases. The sustained efficacy of bronchial thermoplasty (BT) among patients with asthma over 10 years has been encouraging, as it has been shown to improve symptom control and reduce hospital admissions and exacerbations. Studies suggest that BT helps ameliorate airway inflammation and reduce airway smooth muscle thickness. While studies suggest that it is as effective as biologic agents, its role in the management of severe asthma has yet to be clearly defined and GINA 2022 still suggests limiting its use to patients with characteristics of the various populations studied. Conversely, bronchoscopic lung volume reduction has shown promise among patients with advanced COPD. Rigorous patient selection is important. Patients with minimal collateral ventilation (CV) and higher heterogeneity index have shown to benefit the most from endobronchial valve (EBV) therapy. For those with ongoing CV, endobronchial coils would be more appropriate. Both therapeutic modalities have demonstrated improved quality of life, effort tolerance, and lung function indices among appropriately selected patients. The emerging evidence suggests that endoscopic procedures among airway disease still have a substantial role to play despite the development of new therapeutic options.

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood condition and is a risk factor for severe respiratory viral infections. Thus, early during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic there was concern that children with asthma would be at risk for severe COVID-19 illness and that asthma control could worsen as a result of the pandemic. This article seeks to summarize what was learned in the early stages of the pandemic about the impact of COVID-19 on children with asthma. We review evidence from several studies that demonstrated a significant decline in asthma morbidity in the first year of the pandemic. Additionally, we describe several potential mechanisms that may explain the reduced frequency in childhood asthma exacerbations as well as review lessons learned for future management of childhood asthma. While the COVID-19 pandemic initially brought uncertainty, it soon became clear that the pandemic had several positive effects for children with asthma. Now we can apply the lessons that were learned during the pandemic to re-examine asthma care practices as well as advocate for best approaches for asthma management.

Non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) infections are often clinically challenging, with lengthy antibiotic regimens that fail to resolve the infections with few good outcomes remaining. Mycobacteriophages-viruses that infect Mycobacterium hosts-show promise as therapeutic agents for NTM infections and have been used in 20 compassionate use cases. Favorable outcomes were observed in many but not all cases, although the phages show exceptional safety profiles and no evidence of phage resistance was observed, even when only a single phage was administered. Phage-specific antibodies are commonly present following intravenous administration and are often neutralizing for the phage in vitro. However, phage neutralization does not consistently correlate with poor treatment outcomes and may not be a therapeutic limitation in all patients, even when immunocompetent. Currently, the therapeutic potential of phages is substantially limited by the great variation in phage susceptibility and a relatively small repertoire of therapeutically useful phages. As many as 45% of clinical isolates can have a smooth colony morphotype, and phages that both efficiently infect and kill these strains have yet to be described. In contrast, ~ 75% of rough strains are susceptible to and killed by one or more phages and therapeutic options can be considered on a compassionate use basis. Although therapies must currently be personalized, elucidating the determinants of phage host specificity, expanding the useful phage repertoire, and identifying the key determinants of clinical outcomes will reveal their full therapeutic potential.

Introduction: For inhalation therapies to be effective, it is crucial that patients manage inhaler use correctly in their everyday life and achieve treatment compliance. We investigated the effectiveness of the salmeterol-fluticasone propionate Easyhaler^® (SF EH) device-metered dry powder inhaler in a real-world setting in Hungary among adult patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACO).

Methods: A prospective, open-label, multicenter, noninterventional, investigator-sponsored study was conducted in outpatient pneumonology centers. Eligible patients were aged ≥ 18 years with either a new diagnosis of asthma, COPD, or ACO, or whose disease was not controlled with preexisting medication. Data were collected at baseline and 12 + 4 weeks, including the asthma control test (ACT), COPD assessment test (CAT), spirometry parameters [including forced expiratory volume for 1 s (FEV₁)], and physician- and patient-reported outcomes.

Results: Five hundred sixteen patients were recruited from 103 centers: 376 with asthma; 104 with COPD; and 36 with ACO. At week 12, there were significant improvements from baseline in both mean ACT score in patients with asthma (14.4 ± 4.2 versus 21.4 ± 2.8; P < 0.001) and mean CAT score in patients with COPD (24.0 ± 6.1 versus 16.0 ± 5.8; P < 0.001). Significant improvement was observed when the switch from the most frequently used previous inhalers was analyzed separately. Mean FEV₁ improved from 76.0% ± 17.2 to 84.7% ± 16.1 (P < 0.001) and from 53.8% ± 15.0 to 59.9% ± 15.0 (P < 0.001) in patients with asthma or COPD, respectively. The study demonstrated improved physician-rated overall treatment compliance and patient preference for the SF EH over 3 months use compared with previous inhaler treatment, with patients effectively adopting the SF EH into everyday life.

Conclusions: Treatment with SF EH significantly improved patients' lung function parameters and disease control.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease involving multiple mediators and cytokines. While our current treatments have shown significant therapeutic benefits, there still appear to be some patients who, despite aggressive therapy, good adherence, and inhaler technique, continue to have exacerbations. Exacerbations lead to loss of lung function, exposure to systemic corticosteroids, effects on quality of life, and even mortality. There is a large number of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors in the lung even compared with other organs, and studies have shown evidence of reduced exacerbations in asthmatics treated with GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA). While weight loss may affect lung mechanics, evidence of inflammatory changes has been revealed that could explain this relationship. This article will review the data behind these conjectures and outline potential clinical utility and the need for future studies to truly understand the role of GLP-1 receptors in the lung.

Introduction: Aspiration pneumonia is the predominant form of pneumonia in the elderly. Low oral intake levels and malnutrition have been reported to be associated with increased mortality and loss of function in aspiration pneumonia. However, the relationship between start of feeding and readmission, which is associated with malnutrition and low oral intake levels, has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between start of feeding and functional prognosis in aspiration pneumonia.

Methods: Patients' basic information, comorbidities, severity of pneumonia, swallowing function, time from admission to the start of feeding, geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), readmission, and Barthel index (BI) were evaluated in 160 patients. The patients were divided into two groups-a readmission group and a non-readmission group-and statistical verification was performed.

Results: The readmission group was 62 cases (38.8%). Univariate analysis showed that the time from admission to the start of feeding was significantly longer in the readmission group (p < 0.001). Age was significantly higher and nutrition parameters were lower in the readmission group (p = 0.001, 0.006). Furthermore, according to logistic regression analysis, readmission was associated with age (odds ratio, 1.063; p =  0.007; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.017-1.111) and time from admission to the start of feeding (odds ratio 1.080; p < 0.001; 95% CI 1.025-1.137).

Conclusion: The time from admission to the start of feeding was significantly longer in the readmitted patients. A comprehensive intervention with multidisciplinary collaboration should be performed from the early stage of hospitalization.

Trial registration: This study is registered in the UMIN-Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR). UMIN-CTR meets the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). (Registration number: 000047141).

Introduction: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Approximately 5% of people with CF have residual function (RF) CFTR mutations that result in partially retained CFTR activity. Published literature on disease trajectory among those with RF mutations is limited. In this retrospective study, we characterized lung function decline across different age groups in CFTR modulator-untreated people with CF heterozygous for F508del and an RF mutation (F/RF).

Methods: Rate of decline in percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (ppFEV₁) was analyzed using data from the US CF Foundation Patient Registry (2006-2014) in F/RF (all), F/RF (excluding R117H), and F508del homozygous (F/F) cohorts. Annual rates of ppFEV₁ decline were estimated over 2-year periods based on calendar year. Subgroup analyses by age [6-12 (children), 13-17 (adolescents), 18-24 (young adults), and ≥ 25 years (adults)] were performed.

Results: The estimated annualized rate of ppFEV₁ decline was - 0.70 percentage points per year (95% CI -1.09, -0.30) in the F/RF (all) cohort (N = 1242) versus -1.91 percentage points per year (95% CI -2.01, -1.80) in the F/F cohort (N = 11,916) [difference, 1.29 percentage points per year (95% CI 0.88, 1.70); P < 0.001]. In the F/RF (all) cohort, all age groups demonstrated lung function decline ranging from -0.30 to -1.38. In the F/RF (excluding R117H) cohort, the rate of decline was -1.05 percentage points per year (95% CI -1.51, -0.60) [difference versus F/F cohort, 0.95 percentage points per year (95% CI 0.48, 1.41; P < 0.001); not statistically significant in children and young adults].

Conclusion: Progressive lung function decline was observed in people with F/RF genotypes across all assessed age groups, reinforcing the importance of early intervention and clinical monitoring to preserve lung function in all people with CF.

Hepatic hydrothorax (HH) represents a distinct clinical entity within the broader classification of pleural effusion that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The median survival of patients with cirrhosis who develop HH is 8-12 months. The diagnosis is typically made in the context of advanced liver disease and ascites, in the absence of underlying cardio-pulmonary pathology. A multi-disciplinary approach to management, involving respiratory physicians, hepatologists, and palliative care specialists is crucial to ensuring optimal patient-centered care. However, the majority of accepted therapeutic options are based on expert opinion rather than large, adequately powered randomized controlled trials. In this narrative review, we discuss the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, and management of HH, highlighting the use of salt restriction and diuretic therapy, porto-systemic shunts, and liver transplantation. We include specific sections focusing on the role of pleural interventions and palliative care, respectively.

Introduction: Single-inhaler fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) triple therapy was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2017 as a maintenance therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patient characteristics and treatment patterns prior to initiating FF/UMEC/VI are currently unknown. This study assessed patient characteristics, exacerbation, and medication history in patients with COPD before the initiation of FF/UMEC/VI or multiple-inhaler triple therapy (MITT).

Methods: This was a retrospective study using the Optum Clinformatics^® Data Mart. Patients who initiated FF/UMEC/VI triple therapy or MITT (consisting of a long-acting muscarinic antagonist [LAMA], long-acting β2-agonist [LABA], and inhaled corticosteroid [ICS]) between October 2017 and September 2018, were enrolled in commercial or Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans, were aged > 40 years, and had a COPD diagnosis were eligible. Patient characteristics, comorbidities, COPD medication use, exacerbations, and eosinophil counts were assessed in the 12-month baseline period prior to initiation of FF/UMEC/VI triple therapy or MITT.

Results: The study population included 3933 FF/UMEC/VI users and 18,244 MITT users. Mean (standard deviation) patient age was 72.2 (8.6) years in FF/UMEC/VI users and 70.7 (9.7) years in MITT users. Prior to initiating triple therapy, the majority of FF/UMEC/VI (89.1%) and MITT (93.8%) users experienced a moderate or severe exacerbation or used a COPD maintenance therapy during the baseline period. In addition, 41.2% of FF/UMEC/VI users received overlapping ICS/LAMA/LABA, 20.3% received ICS/LABA, and 9.7% received LAMA/LABA.

Conclusion: In this population of COPD patients, triple therapy was frequently initiated after previous maintenance medication use or an exacerbation, in line with treatment guideline recommendations.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is due to a mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR), which leads to unusual water and chloride secretion across epithelial surfaces. The lungs are responsible for most morbidity, though other organs are frequently affected. Sleep abnormalities have long been recognized in CF. Abnormal ventilation and oxygenation, sinus disease, deconditioning due to muscle weakness and recurrent infections, and inflammation have been thought to play a role in sleep disorders in CF. However, there is evidence that CFTR gene dysregulation can affect circadian rhythms in CF. Early recognition and treatment of circadian rhythms may improve outcomes in CF.