Articles related to Pulmonology

An interesting case study in BRASH (bradycardia, renal failure, atrioventricular blockade, shock, and hyperkalemia) syndrome highlights Rare Disease Day, which took place on 2/28/22. After reviewing the patient’s history and symptoms, would you agree on the diagnosis?

The British Medical Journal reports that people who survive COVID-19 are at increased risk of an array of mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, and opioid use disorder, cognitive decline, sleep disorders, and more. The authors recommend close monitoring of patients following infection and up-prioritizing managing their mental health disorders.

This update on the PACIFIC trial comparing durvalumab with placebo in patients with unresectable, stage III non–small-cell lung cancer demonstrated robust and sustained OS and durable PFS benefit. The updated, exploratory analyses of survival, approximately 5 years after the last patient was randomly assigned demonstrate robust and sustained OS and durable PFS benefit with durvalumab after chemoradiotherapy. An estimated 42.9% of patients randomly assigned to durvalumab remain alive at 5 years and 33.1% of patients randomly assigned to durvalumab remain alive and free of disease progression. These results establish a new benchmark for standard of care in this setting.

This Annals of Internal Medicine study reports an 82% decreased risk for reinfection for those previously infected and then vaccinated, versus those previously infected but who remained unvaccinated. Reinfection in both groups was relatively rare.

A new cohort study has found physical, mental, and cognitive symptoms in patients one year after being treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) for COVID-19. The study involved an exploratory multicenter prospective cohort study that included 246 patients who were alive one year following ICU treatment for COVID-19. Three-quarters of patients reported physical symptoms, 1/4 reported mental symptoms, and about 15% reported cognitive symptoms a year after being hospitalized with the respiratory illness.

A proposed six-step approach to making sense of arterial blood gas (ABG) labs. This six-step process with simple table support helps ensure a complete and understandable interpretation of every ABG.