Respiratory

November marks Lung Cancer Awareness Month, which seeks to put a spotlight on the leading cause of cancer death. Here are 5 things to know about the disease.

The mixture of flavorants and propylene glycol (PG) in electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) leads to the formation of acetals that have been shown to activate irritation receptors, predisposing users to the same potential dangers as using traditional cigarettes, a new study said.

Electronic cigarettes can cause detrimental effects to human health and should be reconsidered as a smoking cessation tool, based on results from a recent study.

Patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTMLD) have a significant greater risk of hospitalization and higher total healthcare expenditures than matched control patients without NTMLD.

The FDA’s approval of dupilumab, already approved for severe eczema, for asthma makes it the second biologic for the incurable lung disease.

Neuromuscular blocking agents, or muscle relaxants, are often used in surgery to prevent muscles from moving when a patient is unconscious. A recent study found that the use of neuromuscular blockers during general anesthesia is associated with an increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications.

With a decision from the FDA for its use in moderate-to-severe asthma expected by the end of the week, the biologic dupilumab showed positive results from a pivotal phase 3 trial for inadequately controlled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Treating lung conditions like asthma in pregnant women is a challenge, as it requires knowledge of both the safety of treatments during pregnancy as well as understanding the risks of the disease for both the woman and the infant, noted a review of a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) information system for prescribers.

The FDA said Friday it is asking 21 e-cigarette companies for more information about whether more than 40 products, including some flavored e-cigarette products, are being illegally marketed and are outside the agency’s current compliance policy. The move comes a month after the agency warned of a teen vaping epidemic and said it would be cracking down on the sale of the devices to kids.

The first drug specifically to treat patients with Mycobacterium avium complex, a rare and chronic lung disease, has been approved by the FDA. Arikayce is also the first drug to be approved under the Limited Population Pathway for Antibacterial and Antifungal Drugs, established under the 21st Century Cures Act.

An audit feedback intervention is an approach used to help providers translate evidence into behavior change, and at ID Week, 1 abstract showed that it helped reduce antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections (ARIs). Another report showed that antibiotic prescribing rates for ARIs at medical centers operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have steadily declined since 2010. ID Week is an annual conference focused on many different infectious disease topics.

A study found a lack of consistent and comprehensive coverage throughout the country, identified coverage-related challenges to accessing asthma care within states, and found substantial gaps between guidelines-based asthma care and coverage by state Medicaid programs.

Patients who receive an antibiotic prescription report being happiest with their doctor’s visit, whether or not they needed the antibiotic; the FDA has collected more than 1000 pages of documents from Juul’s headquarters as part of a surprise inspection into its sales and marketing practices; on any given day, an average of 36.6% of American adults are eating fast food, and the proportion eating fast food increases with income.

Patients who use inhaled steroids to control their asthma or other breathing problems may be at a greater risk for developing nontuberculous mycobacterial lung infections.

A recent meta-analysis shows that combined telemedicine involving telecase management or teleconsultation has significant improvements in asthma control and quality of life.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) found enough evidence that biologics provide a benefit over the usual standard of care for patients with moderate to severe asthma, the organization said in a draft evidence report released Tuesday. However, since biologics cost much more than other pharmaceutical treatments, ICER said the 5 drugs it reviewed did not meet its usual cost-effectiveness thresholds.

Despite there being effective therapies, asthma is commonly poorly controlled. Acknowledging and addressing patient treatment beliefs and perceptual barriers to adherence to asthma medication is necessary for designing adherence interventions for patients.

Researchers pinpointed the characteristics of asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) causing a greater disease burden than either condition alone.

There is an association between an individual’s perceptions of community safety and adverse respiratory health among populations with exposure to high air pollution, according to new research.

A retrospective analysis of data from patients with severe asthma who participated in the COBRA trial identified key clinical characteristics that may help clinicians recognize patients who may benefit from additional targeted drug therapy, such as benralizumab.

In an indirect treatment comparison of 3 drugs for severe eosinophilic asthma, GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) mepolizumab, marketed as Nucala, reduced exacerbations by 34% to 45% compared with reslizumab or benralizumab. The results were published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Patients with asthma with certain genotype combinations demonstrate more intense symptoms when combined with a close proximity to roadways, suggesting that traffic-related air pollution exposure may affect the likelihood of asthma diagnosis and exacerbations.

Airports provide multiple sites of risk to contract respiratory viruses, with plastic security screening trays posing the highest potential risk, according to new research published in BMC Infectious Diseases.

A recently released report using data from the National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) verifies existing data on the prevalence of pneumonia in hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits and provides the first-ever data collection on diagnostic testing, length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) stays, and mortality.

E-cigarette use in the United States is more prevalent in people who are younger, have comorbid conditions, or are former or current conventional cigarette smokers, according to results from a recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System national report.