Amyloid-associated cystic lung disease is rare. It can be associated with collagen vascular disease (CVD). We aimed to describe the clinical, radiology, and pathology findings of this entity.

The COPD-Lung Cancer Screening Score (COPD-LUCSS) is a tool designed to help identify patients with COPD with the highest risk of developing lung cancer (LC). The COPD-LUCSS includes the determination of radiological emphysema, a potential limitation for its implementation in clinical practice. The diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is a surrogate marker of emphysema and correlates well with CT-determined emphysema.

Endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS) facilitates a lung cancer diagnosis. However, qualitative tissue characterization of lung tumors is difficult using EBUS. Integrated backscatter (IBS) is an ultrasound technique that calculates the power of the ultrasound signal to characterize tissue components in coronary arteries. We hypothesized that qualitative diagnosis of lung tumors is possible using the IBS technique. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether the IBS technique can be used in lung tissue diagnoses.

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease requires prolonged treatment with multiple antibiotics. Drug intolerances and interactions are common with the current recommended treatment. There is limited information on outcomes with alternative medications.

The COPD Assessment Test (CAT) was developed as a simple instrument to assess health status in patients with COPD. This study aimed to systematically review the determinants of the CAT score, its ability to predict clinical outcomes, and the agreement between CAT (≥ 10) and the modified Medical Research Council scale (mMRC ≥ 2) to categorize patients into the new Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease classification system.

Tobacco smoke exposure increases breathing problems of children. Texas Children's Health Plan is a Managed Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) managed care provider. The aim of this study is to determine associations among tobacco smoke exposure, asthma prevalence, and asthma health-care utilization.

There is little guidance on what clinicians should do when advance directives (or living wills, specifically) are challenged, particularly when surrogate decision-makers' interpretations of patients' wishes conflict with the living will. In our commentary, we make a controversial argument suggesting that overriding living wills can be ethically preferable to the alternative of strictly adhering to them. We propose four ethical considerations for determining whether it is ethically supportable to override living wills.

Diffuse lung diseases in children, also called children's interstitial lung disease, are a diverse group of rare disorders that cause disturbances of gas exchange in the lungs. Although individually rare, there are many different forms of diffuse lung disease in children, and collectively these disorders are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, as well as health-care resource utilization. Over the past several years, there have been many significant advances in the field, including genetic discoveries and the development of clinical practice guidelines. This review summarizes recent advances in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of diffuse lung diseases in children.

Tobacco smoke and nicotine exposure during prenatal and postnatal life can impair lung development, alter the immune response to viral infections, and increase the prevalence of wheezing during childhood. The following review examines recent discoveries in the fields of lung development and tobacco and nicotine exposure, emphasizing studies published within the last 5 years. In utero tobacco and nicotine exposure remains common, occurring in approximately 10% of pregnancies within the United States. Exposed neonates are at increased risk for diminished lung function, altered central and peripheral respiratory chemoreception, and increased asthma symptoms throughout childhood. Recently, genomic and epigenetic risk factors, such as alterations in DNA methylation, have been identified that may influence the risk for long-term disease. This review examines the impact of prenatal tobacco and nicotine exposure on lung development with a particular focus on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. In addition, this review examines the role of prenatal and postnatal tobacco smoke and nicotine exposure and its association with augmenting infection risk, skewing the immune response toward a T-helper type 2 bias and increasing risk for developing an allergic phenotype and asthmalike symptoms during childhood. Finally, this review outlines the respiratory morbidities associated with childhood secondhand smoke and nicotine exposure and examines genetic and epigenetic modifiers that may influence respiratory health in infants and children exposed to in utero or postnatal tobacco smoke.

Respiratory infections are a major clinical problem, and treatment is increasingly complicated by the emergence of microbial antibiotic resistance. Development of new antibiotics is notoriously costly and slow; therefore, alternative strategies are needed. Antimicrobial peptides, central effector molecules of the immune system, are being considered as alternatives to conventional antibiotics. These peptides display a range of activities, including not only direct antimicrobial activity, but also immunomodulation and wound repair. In the lung, airway epithelial cells and neutrophils in particular contribute to their synthesis. The relevance of antimicrobial peptides for host defense against infection has been demonstrated in animal models and is supported by observations in patient studies, showing altered expression and/or unfavorable circumstances for their action in a variety of lung diseases. Importantly, antimicrobial peptides are active against microorganisms that are resistant against conventional antibiotics, including multidrug-resistant bacteria. Several strategies have been proposed to use these peptides in the treatment of infections, including direct administration of antimicrobial peptides, enhancement of their local production, and creation of more favorable circumstances for their action. In this review, recent developments in antimicrobial peptides research in the lung and clinical applications for novel therapies of lung diseases are discussed.

Several recent cough guidelines have advised consideration of occupational or environmental causes for chronic cough, but it is unclear how frequently this recommendation has been routinely applied. Therefore, we undertook a systematic review to address this aspect.

Corticosteroids are an option in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, the benefits and adverse effects of corticosteroids, especially in severe CAP, have not been well assessed.

Relative pulmonary arterial enlargement, defined by a pulmonary artery to aorta (PA/A) ratio > 1 on CT scanning, predicts hospitalization for acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). However, it is unclear how AECOPD affect the PA/A ratio. We hypothesized that the PA/A ratio would increase at the time of AECOPD and that a ratio > 1 would be associated with worse clinical outcomes.

Current sedation guidelines recommend avoiding benzodiazepines but express no preference for propofol vs dexmedetomidine. In addition, few data exist on whether randomized controlled trials of sedatives can be successfully generalized to routine practice, in which conditions tend to be more varied and complex.

Hemodynamic differentiation between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and postcapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) is important because treatment options are strikingly different for the two disease subsets. Whereas patients with PAH can be treated effectively with targeted therapies, their use in postcapillary PH is currently not recommended. Our aim was to establish an algorithm to identify patients who are likely to experience a significant hemodynamic treatment response.