Thoracic imaging is widely used to detect lower respiratory tract infections, identify their complications, and aid in differentiating infectious from noninfectious thoracic disease. Less commonly, the combination of imaging findings and a clinical setting can favor infection with a specific organism. This confluence can occur in cases of bronchiectatic nontuberculous mycobacterial infections in immune-competent hosts, invasive fungal disease among neutropenic patients, Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in patients with AIDS, and in cytomegalovirus infections in patients with recent hematopoietic cell transplantation. These specific diagnoses often depend on computed tomography scanning rather than chest radiography alone. (Source: Clinics in Chest Medicine)

Publication date: Available online 4 April 2015 Source:Respiratory Investigation Author(s): Netsanet A. Negewo , Vanessa M. McDonald , Peter G. Gibson Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) often experience comorbid conditions. The most common comorbidities that have been associated with COPD include cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, metabolic disorder, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression, skeletal muscle dysfunction, cachexia, gastrointestinal diseases, and other respiratory conditions. Not only are comorbidities common but they also considerably influence disease prognosis and patients׳ health status, and are associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, perusal of literature indicates that little has been done so far to effectively assess, manage, and tre...

ConclusionsOur meta‐analysis suggested that ET might be able to reduce the duration of sedation but did not significantly alter the mortality, incidence of VAP, duration of MV and length of ICU stay. (Source: The Clinical Respiratory Journal)

Publication date: Available online 25 March 2015 Source:Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine Author(s): Xueting Li , Min Xue , Otto G. Raabe , Holly L. Aaron , Ellen A. Eisen , James E. Evans , Fred A. Hayes , Sumire Inaga , Abderrahmane Tagmout , Minoru Takeuchi , Chris Vulpe , Jeffrey I. Zink , Subhash H. Risbud , Kent E. Pinkerton A highly versatile nanoplatform that couples mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with an aerosol technology to achieve direct nanoscale delivery to the respiratory tract is described. This novel method can deposit MSN nanoparticles throughout the entire respiratory tract, including nasal, tracheobronchial and pulmonary regions using a water-based aerosol. This delivery method was successfully tested in mice by inhalation. The MSN nanoparticl...