Articles related to Pulmonology

Source: BMC Pulmonary MedicineFindings:  IPF patients who switched from one antifibrotic therapy to the alternative — whether from pirfenidone (Esbriet) to nintedanib (Ofev, Vargatef) or the other way around – had improved survival. This observation held true whether the reason for switch was disease progress or tolerance issues.Design: Multi-center retrospective cohort study; 262 patients

The investigational agent – known as REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) – was previously granted the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. Now, those who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, have an option.

Findings: Primary outcomes included AMI, HF, stroke, and CVEs; 51 secondary and safety outcomes included angioedema, cough, syncope, and electrolyte abnormalities. ACE inhibitors were associated with a significantly increased risk of four secondary and safety outcomes compared with ARBs.Design: Multinational cohort study; Patients: ~2.3M ACE, ~674K ARB 

The FDA added a warning that Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine may trigger Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in a small number of people. Of the 12.5 million Americans who received this vaccine, about 100 people reported having GBS, which is an acquired demyelinating polyneuropathy that often begins in the lower extremities and ascends over time with loss of reflexes, causing muscle weakness, or in the most severe cases, paralysis.

According to a study of 135,000 doctors by Doximity, male physicians made, on average, 28% more than females in 2020, a 3% increase from the 2019 numbers. The survey, along with Medscape’s poll in 2021 that showed male specialist physicians overall making 33% more than females, points to a few other large gender pay gaps, as well as some in which women doctors make salaries closer to those of men.

According to a press release from April 2021, “the FDA is working toward issuing proposed product standards within the next year to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and ban all characterizing flavors (including menthol) in cigars.” Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock, MD, said the agency had now “accumulated sufficient evidence establishing the addictiveness and harm from menthol,” which provides a “trajectory” toward ending tobacco-related disease and death.