Respiratory

New data show a decrease in COVID-19 deaths in the United States; long-term exposure to low levels of air pollution increases mortality risk; Moderna pressured to ramp up vaccine production.

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness may indicate the presence of cough-variant asthma in nonsmokers who have chronic cough, new research shows.

Peter Dicpinigaitis, MD, professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, director of the Montefiore Cough Center, and editor-in-chief of LUNG, addresses the lack of approved treatments for chronic cough in the United States, current off-label remedies, and the prospect of future approvals.

Therapies that block adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can reduce the irritation that causes cough, and some currently being studied also don’t have taste side effects that can confound clinical trial results, explained Ron Eccles, BSc, PhD, DSc, emeritus profess at Cardiff University.

Analysis results highlight the efficacy of cough suppression therapy (CST) for those with chronic refractory cough and voice disorders.

Among patients with COVID-19, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma were more prevalent than allergic rhinitis.

Pfizer says a newly formulated dose of its vaccine is safe and effective in children; CDC data underscore the efficacy of the 3 COVID-19 vaccines; Biden aims to reform health care with trillion-dollar package.

High-dose trivalent flu vaccine was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization and emergency department visits for pneumonia or influenza in adults aged 65 and above, according to a recent study.

Researchers have found that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused potentially millions of children to miss routine vaccines. During a time of back-to-school excitement and reversals of transmission prevention efforts in some states, children may be at risk of facing a slew of non-COVID-19 viral outbreaks.

The authors said the results may prove useful in adding to the relatively small body of information known about the relationship between health-related quality of life and how the severity of asthma affects a patient’s preference values.

Disease burden estimates of pneumonia-associated hospitalizations are more sensitive when including pneumonia coded in any diagnosis field vs in only the first discharge diagnosis field.

FDA halts sale of more than 50,000 flavored e-cigarette products; health systems in Idaho and Oregon struggle to meet the influx of patients with COVID-19; drop in breast cancer screening rates seen throughout pandemic.

Researchers conducted a literature survey about chronic cough symptoms to create a patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) tool in order to measure cough severity.

Use of electronic nicotine products was associated with an increased likelihood of dry nighttime cough and wheezing in adolescents, according to findings gleaned from a large survey.

Patients with chronic cough reported autonomic symptoms with substantially increased frequency and severity when compared with a healthy control population.

Mortality risk stratification can identify patients with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of mortality, discharge to skilled nursing facility, and readmission, and may benefit from focused intervention strategies.

Survey data found that better diagnosis and treatment methods are needed among patients with chronic cough in Japan due to the prevalent nature of the condition.

A newly released internal CDC report shows the agency's communication struggles and its challenges in combatting the virulent delta variant, acknowledges the need for universal masking, and illustrates the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing more severe illness and death in those who are inoculated.

Patients may find a placebo effect beneficial, but it causes issues in a clinical trial and makes it difficult to understand the efficacy of a pharmacological agent, said Ron Eccles, BSc, PhD, DSc, emeritus professor at Cardiff University.

Many respiratory viruses demonstrated atypical activity levels as compared with previous rates of activity during pre-pandemic seasonality, the CDC said this week.

Patients with complex chronic cough reported high satisfactory levels with virtual consultations.

After years of having cough related to asthma, it took a long time for a specialist to realize Paulette Nyahay had a chronic cough unrelated to her asthma.

As COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in the United States throughout the pandemic, incidences of other respiratory viral infections dramatically declined.

Moderna starts testing for its new mRNA seasonal flu vaccine; the worldwide COVID-19 death toll hits 4 million as Delta variant spreads; more states sign on to Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy reorganization plans after additional payments and release of documents are added to the deal.

Patients with a cough lasting more than 8 weeks are diagnosed with chronic cough, and for a subpopulation of those patients there is no treatable underlying cause of their cough, said Peter Dicpinigaitis, MD, professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the Montefiore Cough Center.