Atrial fibrillation (AF) during sepsis is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, but practice patterns and outcomes associated with rate- and rhythm-targeted treatments for AF during sepsis are unclear.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a complex disease with multifactorial etiology. The presence of endothelial dysfunction constitutes an early risk factor for CVD in children. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression and represent a novel class of biomarkers and therapeutic targets; therefore, we examined whether the presence of endothelial dysfunction is associated with differential expression of plasma miRNAs in otherwise healthy children.

Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided biopsy is the mainstay for investigation of mediastinal lymphadenopathy for laboratory diagnosis of malignancy, sarcoidosis, or TB. However, improved methods for discriminating between TB and sarcoidosis and excluding malignancy are still needed. We sought to evaluate the role of genomewide transcriptional profiling to aid diagnostic processes in this setting.

Palivizumab reduces the severity of respiratory syncytial virus infection in premature infants, but whether there is a protective effect beyond the preschool age is unknown. This study sought to assess the short- and long-term effects of palivizumab immunization on respiratory morbidity and pulmonary function at school age in children born extremely prematurely.

Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPDs) are associated with accelerated aggravation of clinical symptoms and deterioration of pulmonary function. The mechanisms by which exacerbations may contribute to airway remodeling and declined lung function are poorly understood. We investigated whether AECOPDs are associated with differential expression of glycosaminoglycans in BAL in a cohort of 97 patients with COPD.

Sleep bruxism (SB) consists of involuntary episodic and repetitive jaw muscle activity characterized by occasional tooth grinding or jaw clenching during sleep. Prevalence decreases from 20% to 14% in childhood to 8% to 3% in adulthood. Although the causes and mechanisms of idiopathic primary SB are unknown, putative candidates include psychologic risk factors (eg, anxiety, stress due to life events, hypervigilance) and sleep physiologic reactivity (eg, sleep arousals with autonomic activity, breathing events). Although certain neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, noradrenalin, histamine) have been proposed to play an indirect role in SB, their exact contribution to rhythmic masticatory muscle activity (RMMA) (the electromyography marker of SB) genesis remains undetermined. No specific gene is associated with SB; familial environmental influence plays a significant role. To date, no single explanation can account for the SB mechanism. Secondary SB with sleep comorbidities that should be clinically assessed are insomnia, periodic limb movements during sleep, sleep-disordered breathing (eg, apnea-hypopnea), gastroesophageal reflux disease, and neurologic disorders (eg, sleep epilepsy, rapid eye movement behavior disorder). SB is currently quantified by scoring RMMA recordings in parallel with brain, respiratory, and heart activity recordings in a sleep laboratory or home setting. RMMA confirmation with audio-video recordings is recommended for better diagnostic accuracy in the presence of neurologic conditions. Management strategies (diagnostic tests, treatment) should be tailored to the patient's phenotype and comorbidities. In the presence of sleep-disordered breathing, a mandibular advancement appliance or CPAP treatment is preferred over single occlusal splint therapy on the upper jaw.

Clinic-based effectiveness studies of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) treatment in reducing BP in resistant hypertension (RHTN) vs non-RHTN are sparse. We hypothesize that CPAP use in SDB reduces BP significantly in RHTN and non-RHTN in a large clinic-based cohort.

A subset of patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) develops pulmonary hypertension (PH) by mechanisms including pulmonary arterial hypertension, high flow, and elevated pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP). We aimed to describe echocardiographic and hemodynamic characteristics of patients with coexisting HHT and PH.

There is a growing understanding of the prevalence and impact of psychological disorders on COPD. However, the role of these disorders in early readmission is unclear.

For patients diagnosed with acute pulmonary embolism (PE), the prognostic significance of concomitant DVT lacks clarity.

There is a need for improved clinical identification of hospitalized patients at risk of aspiration. We evaluated our novel phonetic test in a broad spectrum of patients at risk of aspiration in the ICU or intermediate care unit.

Patients with COPD suffer from chronic dyspnea, which is commonly perceived as highly aversive and threatening. Moreover, COPD is often accompanied by disease-specific fears and avoidance of physical activity. However, little is known about structural brain changes in patients with COPD and respective relations with disease duration and disease-specific fears.

Balance deficits and an increased fall risk are well documented in individuals with COPD. Despite evidence that balance training programs can improve performance on clinical balance tests, their minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the MCID of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest), and Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale in patients with COPD undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation.

In Japan, the routine use of early antiviral therapy for patients with influenza is standard.

Monitoring potential changes in the epidemiology of cystic fibrosis (CF) pathogens furthers our understanding of the potential impact of interventions.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasingly prevalent with age, and increasing age is an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke. Oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy use in the extreme elderly (aged ≥ 85 years) is challenging.