Three Biologic-Naïve Patients with Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis Showing Significant Clinical Improvement with Tezepelumab.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is characterized by hypersensitivity to spp. and often causes intractable asthma. Studies have been conducted on biologics administered to patients with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis; however, treatment may not always be successful.

Independent association of a 17q21 variant with exacerbations in type 2-low adult asthma.

Background: The genetic factors contributing to exacerbations in type 2-low asthma are not well understood.

Objective: We sought to clarify the association between variants in gasdermin B/orosomucoid-like 3 () on 17q21 and exacerbations in type 2-low asthma.

Methods: This follow-up study of the multicenter Kinki Hokuriku Airway disease Conference (KiHAC) enrolled adults with asthma who were receiving inhaled corticosteroids.

Adolescent and Current Exercise Habits in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Associations with Body Composition, Physical Activity, and Pulmonary Function.

Purpose: Regular exercise significantly influences chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outcomes. However, the associations of exercise habits during adolescence compared to current exercise habits on physical activity (PA), body composition, pulmonary function, and CT imaging parameters remain unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to clarify the associations of adolescent and current exercise habits with current conditions.

Dynamic property of central airway walls assessed by computed tomography: correlation with asthma pathophysiology.

Objective: A subset of asthmatics suffers from frequent exacerbations. Various features of airway remodeling and the resultant elastic property of airway walls may play pathophysiological roles in these exacerbations. The aim of the study was to examine the collapsibility of airways and sputum biomarkers associated with airway remodeling with different frequencies of exacerbations.

Lung imaging in COPD and asthma.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are common lung diseases with heterogeneous clinical presentations. Lung imaging allows evaluations of underlying pathophysiological changes and provides additional personalized approaches for disease management. This narrative review provides an overview of recent advances in chest imaging analysis using various modalities, such as computed tomography (CT), dynamic chest radiography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Aorta and main pulmonary artery segmentation using stacked U-Net and localization on non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography images.

Background: The contact between the aorta, main pulmonary artery (MPA), main pulmonary vein, vena cava (VC), and esophagus affects segmentation of the aorta and MPA in non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (NCE-CT) images.

Purpose: A two-stage stacked U-Net and localization of the aorta and MPA were developed for the segmentation of the aorta and MPA in NCE-CT images.

Methods: Normal-dose NCE-CT images of 24 subjects with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and low-dose NCE-CT images of 100 subjects without CTEPH were used in this study.

Inspiratory and Expiratory Computed Tomography Imaging Clusters Reflect Functional Characteristics in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Purpose: Disease probability measure (DPM) is a useful voxel-wise imaging assessment of gas-trapping and emphysematous lesions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To elucidate the progression of COPD, we performed a cluster analysis using the following DPM parameters: normal (DPM), gas-trapping (DPM), and emphysematous lesions (DPM). Our findings revealed the characteristics of each cluster and the 3-year disease progression using imaging parameters.

Autobullectomy with COVID-19 in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A 72-year-old man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was admitted for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). He was discharged on day 30; however, he was readmitted 6 days later due to a left lung organizing pneumonia secondary to COVID-19. After methylprednisolone treatment, the patient was discharged on day 15.

Multicenter, single-blind, randomized controlled study of the efficacy and safety of favipiravir and nafamostat mesilate in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nafamostat combined with favipiravir for the treatment of COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel assignment study in hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients were randomly assigned to receive favipiravir alone (n = 24) or nafamostat with favipiravir (n = 21).

Immune-related aseptic meningitis diagnosed by Cube FLAIR on enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for a lung cancer patient administered atezolizumab: A case report.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs), such as neurological toxicity. A 46-year-old man was diagnosed with squamous cell lung cancer. Lung cancer recurred 3 years after he experienced left segmental lung rejection.

Risk factors for pneumonitis in advanced extrapulmonary cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: Immune-mediated pneumonitis has a high mortality rate; however, information regarding the related risk factors remains limited. This study aimed to analyze risk factors for pneumonitis, including smoking and lung metastasis (LM), in patients with extrapulmonary primary tumors.

Methods: Data of 110 patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) (nivolumab/pembrolizumab) for treating extrapulmonary primary tumors at the Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital between January 2015 and December 2019 were retrospectively collected.

A Prospective Cohort Study to Assess Obstructive Respiratory Disease Phenotypes and Endotypes in Japan: The TRAIT Study Design.

Background: Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) are complex and heterogeneous diseases that share clinical characteristics (phenotypes) and molecular mechanisms (endotypes). Whilst physicians make clinical decisions on diagnostic groups, for some such as ACO there is no commonly accepted criteria. An alternative approach is to evaluate phenotypes and endotypes that are considered to respond well to a specific type of treatment ("treatable traits") rather than diagnostic labels.

Incorrect Holding Angle of Dry Powder Inhaler during the Drug-Loading Step Significantly Decreases Output Efficiency.

It is well known that correct use of inhalers plays a critical role in optimal inhalation therapy, but the impact of incorrect inhaler use on pulmonary drug delivery has not been quantitatively evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of holding inhalers at incorrect angles during the drug-loading step while using Turbuhaler and to quantify the influence of the inhaler angle on in vitro pulmonary delivery. Thirty patients prescribed Turbuhaler at Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital were enrolled.

Perioperative changes in respiratory impedance in lobectomy and their clinical impact.

Background: Respiratory function declines after lung resection. However, perioperative changes in respiratory impedance and their clinical significance are unclear. The forced oscillation technique can measure respiratory impedance during quiet breathing and possibly early after surgery.

Increased F-FDG accumulation in less-affected lung area in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and postoperative acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease.

Purpose: To investigate whether or not F-FDG accumulation in normal or less-affected lung fields increased in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with postoperative acute exacerbation (PAE) of interstitial lung disease (ILD) MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-six NSCLC patients with ILD and 50 patients without ILD (non-ILD patients) underwent pre-operative F-FDG-PET/CT at 2 institutions. Volume-of-interest (VOI) was placed to measure the mean standardized uptake value (SUV) in normal or less-affected lung fields at pre-defined 12 areas on ventral and dorsal locations of both lungs. SUV was defined as corrected SUV by using TF and mean computed tomography density on PET/CT.

Relationship of flow-volume curve pattern on pulmonary function test with clinical and radiological features in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: The flow-volume (FV) curve pattern in the pulmonary function test (PFT) for obstructive lung diseases is widely recognized. However, there are few reports on FV curve pattern in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In this study, we investigated the relationship between FV curve pattern and clinical or radiological features in IPF.

An index of the fractal characteristic of an airway tree is associated with airflow limitations and future body mass index reduction in COPD patients.

Disorders of the fractality of an airway tree and a vessel tree have been studied in pulmonary diseases. Here we successfully applied Mishima's D to the bronchial minimal inner cross-sectional area (iCSA) measured in multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-COPD smokers ( = 162), by defining D in the following formula: log(≥) = -D × log + c, where is a certain iCSA value, (≥) is the number of airway branches having iCSA greater than or equal to , and c is a constant. Mathematically, this D of iCSA was associated with the expected reduction ratio of iCSA at bifurcations, which can be estimated by 2.