Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Pulmonology for August 2012. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Sleep Apnea Tied to Insulin Resistance in Young, Lean Men
TUESDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In healthy, lean, young men, the presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) correlates with insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia to maintain normal glucose levels, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in Diabetes Care.
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Gabapentin Efficacious for Refractory Chronic Cough
TUESDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with refractory chronic cough, treatment with gabapentin is associated with improved cough-specific quality of life and is well-tolerated, according to a study published online Aug. 28 in The Lancet.
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LABA Withdrawal Increases Asthma-Related Impairment
TUESDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with asthma controlled with a combination of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and a long-acting β2-agonist (LABA), withdrawal of the LABA once asthma is controlled correlates with increased asthma-associated impairment, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Stress Causes Lower INR in VTE Patients Not on Blood Thinners
FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- The effect of psychological distress on clotting times and clotting factors varies in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) and depends on whether or not they are receiving oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy, according to a Swiss study published in the August issue of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
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New Model Explains How Lungs Clear Foreign Matter
FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Mucus in the lungs clears foreign matter by moving along a brush-like periciliary layer rather than a watery layer, which keeps it from sticking to the airway surface, according to a study published in the Aug. 24 issue of Science.
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Smoking in Pregnancy Linked to Preschool Wheeze, Asthma
FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy, but not in their first year of life, have an increased likelihood of developing wheeze and asthma at age 4 to 6 years, according to a study published online Aug. 17 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Mortality Rates Down for Adult Trauma Patients in Last Decade
THURSDAY, Aug. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The mortality rate for adult patients admitted to trauma centers in Pennsylvania has declined over the past decade, according to research published in the August issue of the Archives of Surgery.
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Study Identifies Sleep Apnea in 50 Percent of Women
TUESDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Half of adult women aged 20 to 70 years may have obstructive sleep apnea, which correlates with age, obesity, and hypertension, according to a study published online Aug. 16 in the European Respiratory Journal.
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Evidence-Based Public Health Interventions Identified
TUESDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Evidence-based public health interventions to improve dietary habits, increase physical activity, and reduce tobacco use are identified in an American Heart Association scientific statement published online Aug. 20 in Circulation.
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2012 Indicators of Well-Being for Older Americans Issued
MONDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The estimates of selected indicators for well-being for older Americans for 2012 have been released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
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Prevalence of TB, Hepatitis C, HIV High Among Homeless
MONDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The global prevalence of tuberculosis, hepatitis C virus infection, and HIV is high among homeless people, although significant heterogeneity is seen in prevalence estimates, according to a study published online Aug. 20 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
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Azithromycin Treats Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis
MONDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis with at least one exacerbation in the past year, treatment with the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin correlates with a reduced rate of event-based exacerbations, according to a study published in the Aug. 18 issue of The Lancet, a theme issue on respiratory medicine.
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Mepolizumab Effective in Treating Eosinophilic Asthma
FRIDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with severe eosinophilic asthma, treatment with mepolizumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin 5, is effective at reducing clinically significant exacerbations, according to a study published in the Aug. 18 issue of The Lancet, a theme issue on respiratory medicine.
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Study Finds Tobacco Use High in Developing Countries
FRIDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Despite global tobacco control efforts, in low- and middle-income countries, nearly half of men use tobacco, women are starting to smoke at earlier ages, and quit ratios are low, according to a study published in the Aug. 18 issue of The Lancet, a theme issue on respiratory medicine.
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FDA: Codeine May Be Fatal in Subset of Children
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Some children may be at risk for serious adverse events, including death, after taking codeine for relief of pain following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy for obstructive sleep apnea, according to a safety communication issued Aug. 15 by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
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Tissue Platinum Concentrations Linked to Response in NSCLC
TUESDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who undergo neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, tissue platinum concentrations correlate positively with improved outcome, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Poor Follow-Up of Hospital Tests Often Due to Late Orders
TUESDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Poor follow-up of test results at or after discharge from the hospital is often due to tests requested on the day of discharge, according to a letter to the editor published online Aug. 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Rat Study Shows Chrysotile Asbestos Is Strong Carcinogen
TUESDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Chrysotile, a commercially used type of asbestos, induces malignant mesothelioma (MM) in the rat peritoneal cavity, with pathogenesis strongly linked to iron overload, according to a study published online Aug. 2 in The Journal of Pathology.
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Oral Corticosteroids Deemed Ineffective for Rhinosinusitis
TUESDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Systemic corticosteroids are not effective for symptom control in patients with acute rhinosinusitis, according to a study published online Aug. 7 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
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Unsuspected PE Does Not Up Mortality Risk in Cancer Patients
MONDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer patients with an unsuspected pulmonary embolism (UPE) do not have an increased mortality risk and have a similar risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) to those with clinically suspected pulmonary embolism (PE), according to research published online July 27 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
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Sleep Duration Affects Hepatitis B Vaccine Response
MONDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Sleeping less than six hours per night lowers the secondary antibody response to hepatitis B vaccination and significantly reduces the likelihood of individuals being clinically protected from hepatitis B, according to research published in the Aug. 1 issue of SLEEP.
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Clinicians Can Unintentionally Prompt Nocebo Effect
THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The nocebo effect, or induction of a symptom perceived as negative by sham treatment and/or the suggestion of negative expectation, may arise from suggestions by doctors and nurses, according to a study published in Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.
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Smokers Substituting Cigars, Loose Tobacco for Cigarettes
THURSDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The popularity of cigarette smoking in the United States continues to decline, but it appears many smokers are turning to less heavily taxed cigars and loose tobacco, according to a report published in the Aug. 3 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.
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