Obstructive Lung Disease
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Expanding treatments for COPD management
Recent FDA approval of dupilumab and ensifentrine marks significant progress in therapies targeting inflammation, lung function, and symptom relief for patients with COPD.
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Mitigating risk of asthma emergencies during respiratory season
During flu season, asthma emergencies become a heightened concern, especially among children. Proactive measures including vaccination, updated asthma action plans, and access to quick relief medications are critical.
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AI applications in pediatric pulmonary, sleep, and critical care medicine
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the science and engineering of making intelligent machines that mimic human cognitive functions, such as learning and problem solving.1AI tools are being increasingly utilized in pediatric pulmonary disease management to analyze the tremendous amount of patient data on environmental and physiological variables and compliance with therapy. Asthma exacerbations in young children…
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Pseudomonas infection in patients with noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a clinically important organism that infects patients with noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB). In the United States, the estimated prevalence of NCFB is 213 per 100,000 across all age groups and 813 per 100,000 in the over 65 age group.1 A retrospective cohort study suggests the incidence of NCFB as ascertained from International…
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Bronchiectasis: A call to action
Bronchiectasis is an extremely heterogeneous airways disease, making it difficult to study. For years, the noncystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis community has been trying to organize to provide better care for more than half a million adults with bronchiectasis in the United States. Internationally, the Europeans created the European Bronchiectasis Registry, which has been a powerful…
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Expanding recommendations for RSV vaccination
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been increasingly recognized as a prevalent cause of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) among adults in the United States. The risk of hospitalization and mortality from RSV-associated respiratory failure is higher in those with chronic lung disease. In adults aged 65 years or older, RSV has shown to cause up…
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Severe early-life respiratory infections heighten pediatric OSA risk
Children with severe lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) within the first 2 years of life had a 2.06-fold increased risk of developing pediatric OSA by age 5, according to a study comparing patients hospitalized with LRTI to controls without severe LRTI.1 Prior studies linked LRTI and OSA, but the impact of LRTI severity was unknown.2…
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Fellow to use diversity scholar mentorship to strengthen care in pediatric-to-adult transitions
During residency training at the Rush University Medical Center in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Esha Kapania, MD, quickly became interested in the pulmonary pathologies that span the life of a patient, beginning in childhood and lasting into adulthood. Now in her first year of fellowship at the University of Louisville and as the recipient of…
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Making invisible problems visible
For Erika Mosesón, MD, a pulmonologist and ICU doctor, advocacy for clean air and climate action started small: signing petitions and writing letters. Even as she attended conferences and learned about the health impacts of air pollution, her impression was that experts were handling it. “I didn’t really think my voice was worth highlighting,” Dr.…
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Eradicating uncertainty: A review of Pseudomonas aeruginosa eradication in bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis patients have dilated airways that are often colonized with bacteria, resulting in a vicious cycle of airway inflammation and progressive dilation. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a frequent airway colonizer and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) and noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB).1 Both CF and NCFB guidelines recommend eradication of P.…
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Tackling the massive threat of climate change
Soon after moving to Pittsburgh for my pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship in 2014, I began noticing a theme: So many of my patients expressed a sense that the air they breathed was harming them or was in some way responsible for the severity of their lung disease. In this city, the legacy of…
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Emerging role of biologics in COPD: A new direction
Remodeling of airways and destruction of parenchyma by immune and inflammatory mechanisms are the leading cause of lung function decline in patients with COPD. Type 2 inflammation has been recognized as an important phenotypic pathway in asthma. However, its role in COPD has been much less clear, which had been largely associated with innate immune…
