The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) jointly developed European Union Standards for Tuberculosis Care (ESTC) aimed at providing European Union (EU)-tailored standards for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis (TB).

The International Standards for TB Care (ISTC) were developed in the global context and are not always adapted to the EU setting and practices.

The majority of EU countries have the resources and capacity to implement higher standards to further secure quality TB diagnosis, treatment and prevention. On this basis, the ESTC were developed as standards specifically tailored to the EU setting. A panel of 30 international experts, led by a writing group and the ERS and ECDC, identified and developed the 21 ESTC in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, HIV and comorbid conditions, and public health and prevention. The ISTCs formed the basis for the 21 standards, upon which additional EU adaptations and supplements were developed. These patient-centred standards are targeted to clinicians and public health workers, providing an easy-to-use resource, guiding through all required activities to ensure optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of TB.

These will support EU health programmes to identify and develop optimal procedures for TB care, control and elimination.

The role of surgery in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC ) with clinically manifested mediastinal node metastasis is controversial even in resectable cases because it is often accompanied by systemic micrometastasis. However, surgery is occasionally indicated for cases with single-station N2 disease or within multimodal treatment regimens, and in clinical trials.

The aim of this study is to evaluate surgical outcomes in a modern cohort of patients with clinical (c-) stage IIIA -N2 NSCLC whose nodal metastasis was confirmed by pathology (cN2/pN2).

METHODS : From the central database of lung cancer patients undergoing surgery in 2004, which was founded by the Japanese Joint Committee for Lung Cancer Registration, data of patients having all conditions of NSCLC , c-stage IIIA , cN2, and pN2 were extracted, and the clinicopathologic profile of patients and surgical outcomes were evaluated.

RESULTS : Among 11,663 registered NSCLC cases, 436 patients (3.8%) (332 men and 104 women) had been extracted. Their mean age was 65 years, and histologic types included adenocarcinoma (n = 246), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 132), and others (n = 58). The proportion of R0 resection was 82.5% and the proportion of the hospital deaths among the cause of death was 2.3%. The 5-year survival rate was 30.1% for the selected group of patients. The postoperative prognosis was significantly better than those of corresponding populations extracted from the 1994 (p = 0.0001) and 1999 databases (p = 0.0411). Men and women experienced a significantly different survival outcome (p = 0.025) with 5-year survivals of 27.5% and 37.8%, respectively. Single-station N2 cases occupied 60.9 % of the cohort and showed a significantly better prognosis than multistation N2 (p = 0.0053, 35.8 % versus 22.0 % survival rate at 5 years).

CONCLUSIONS : The surgical outcomes of c-stage IIIA-cN2/pN2 NSCLC patients in 2004 were favorable in comparison with those ever reported.

Obesity contributes to respiratory symptoms and exercise limitation, but the relationships between obesity, airflow obstruction (AO), respiratory symptoms and functional limitation are complex.

AIMS: To determine the relationship of obesity with airflow obstruction (AO) and respiratory symptoms in adults without a previous diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

METHODS: We analysed data for potential referents recruited to be healthy controls for an ongoing study of COPD. The potential referents had no prior diagnosis of COPD or healthcare utilisation attributed to COPD in the 12 months prior to recruitment. Subjects completed a structured interview and a clinical assessment including body mass index, spirometry, six-minute walk test (SMWT), and the Short Performance Physical Battery (SPPB). Multiple regression analyses were used to test the associations of obesity (body mass index >30kg/m2) and smoking with AO (forced expiratory volume in 1s/forced vital capacity ratio <0.7). We also tested the association of obesity with respiratory symptoms and impaired functional capacity (SPPB, SMWT), adjusting for AO.

RESULTS: Of 371 subjects (aged 40-65 years), 69 (19%) had AO. In multivariate analysis, smoking was positively associated with AO (per 10 pack-years, OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.49) while obesity was negatively associated with AO (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.98). Obesity was associated with increased odds of reporting dyspnoea on exertion (OR 3.6; 95% CI 2.0 to 6.4), productive cough (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.1 to 6.0), and with decrements in SMWT distance (67±9m; 95% CI 50 to 84m) and SPPB score (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.5). None of these outcomes was associated with AO.

CONCLUSIONS: Although AO and obesity are both common among adults without an established COPD diagnosis, obesity (but not AO) is linked to a higher risk of reporting dyspnoea on exertion, productive cough, and poorer functional capacity.