Conclusions:  These findings suggest that the risk of NTM infection may be greater in asthmatic patients who are older, have more severe airflow limitation and receive higher doses of ICS therapy.

Danish researchers followed >57 000 older people over 10 years up to 2006.1 They made unique efforts to individually estimate exposure to traffic-related pollution for 35 years back in time, using modelled home–outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. A 5.8 μg/m3 contrast in the 35-year average NO2 concentration was associated with a 10% higher risk for a first-ever hospitalisation due to asthma. In other words, pollution of the last century appears to contribute to current hospitalisations. But does this interpretation make sense? First, I will present arguments against this conclusion. Second, I will explain how to make sense of this large and well-conducted study. To clarify the interpretation of the results, it is worth formulating two basic hypotheses ...

Ever since the first successful pneumonectomy for lung cancer was performed in 1933, a number of largely historical reports have attempted to look at the physiological consequences of this operation in order to define patient long-term functional status. The pertinence of these contributions is, however, limited because most were performed in patients who had their pneumonectomy for benign diseases or were carried out in small and heterogeneous populations. Thus, several surgical myths and beliefs such as phrenic nerve interruption at the time of operation might be desirable, marked hyperinflation of the residual lung is associated with reduced lung function, and patients develop pulmonary hypertension over time and have poor exercise tolerance have persisted over the years. Our findings b...

Conclusion: NIV improves exercise tolerance in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic respiratory disease but the applicability of this approach in routine clinical practice may be limited.Trial registration http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN35692743 (Source: BMC Pulmonary Medicine - Latest articles)