Incidentally discovered tracheal bronchus.

Congenital anomalies of the large airways are occasionally asymptomatic and are incidentally discovered through radiography, often using computed tomography. Bronchoscopy can aid in the direct visual examination of the large airway abnormalities detected on radiography.

Real-World Evidence for the Association Between Pneumonia-Related Intensive Care Unit Stay and Dementia.

OBJECTIVE: There is limited clarity concerning the risk of dementia after pneumonia with intensive care unit (ICU) stay. We conducted a nationwide cohort study, which aimed to investigate the impact of dementia after pneumonia with and without intensive care unit admission. METHODS: Data was obtained from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database between 2000 and 2015. A total of 7,473 patients were identified as having pneumonia required ICU stay, along with 22,419 controls matched by sex and age. After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate Cox regression model analysis was used to compare the risk of developing dementia during the 15-years follow-up period. RESULTS: The enrolled pneumonia patients with ICU admission had a dementia rate of 9.89%. Pneumonia patients without ICU admission had a dementia rate of 9.21%. The multivariate Cox regression model analysis revealed that the patients with ICU stay had the higher risk of dementia, with a crude hazard ratio of 3.371 (95% confidence interval, 3.093-3.675; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: This study indicated that pneumonia with ICU stay is associated with an increased risk of dementia. A 3-fold risk of dementia was observed in patients admitted to the ICU compared to the control group.

Epidemiological features of domestic and imported cases with COVID-19 between January 2020 and March 2021 in Taiwan.

ABSTRACT: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic affecting numerous countries around the world. This study elaborates Taiwan's epidemiological characteristics from the 2020 to 2021 COVID-19 pandemic from human, temporal, and geographical dimensions. Big data for cases were obtained from a public database from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in April 2021. The data were analyzed and used to compare differences, correlations, and trends for human, temporal, and geographical characteristics for imported and domestic COVID-19 cases. During the study period, 1030 cases were confirmed and the mortality rate of 1.0%. The epidemiological features indicated that most cases (953/1030, 92.5%) were imported. A comparison of the domestic confirmed and imported cases revealed the following findings: No significant difference of COVID-19 between males and females for sex was observed; For age, the risk of domestic transmission was significantly lower for 20 to 29 years old, higher for 50 to 59 years old, and >60 years old with odds ratios (ORs) (P value < .05) of 0.36, 3.37, and 2.50, respectively; For the month of infection, the ORs (P value < .05) of domestic confirmed cases during January and February 2020 were 22.428; and in terms of area of residence, the ORs (P value < .05) for domestic confirmed cases in northern and southern Taiwan were 4.473 and 0.033, respectively. Thus, the increase in domestic cases may have been caused by international travelers transmitting the virus in March 2020 and December 2020, respectively. Taiwan has been implementing effective screening and quarantine measures at airports. Moreover, Taiwan has implemented and maintained stringent interventions such as large-scale epidemiological investigation, rapid diagnosis, wearing masks, washing hands frequently, safe social distancing, and prompt clinical classifications for severe patients who were given appropriate medical measures. This is the first report comparing imported and domestic cases of COVID-19 from surveillance data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control during January 2020 and March 2021. It illustrates that individuals infected during overseas travel are the main risk factors for the spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan. The study also highlights the importance of longitudinal and geographically extended studies in understanding the implications of COVID-19 transmission for Taiwan's population.

Endobronchial Lesion in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis is a systemic vasculitis. It could affect respiratory system, kidney, and central nervous system frequently; however, all body organs could be involved. Asthma and eosinophilic pneumonia are predominant manifestations in respiratory system. Bronchoalveolar lavage or lung biopsy may be used for diagnosis, but endobronchial lesion is not considered as a manifestation of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Here we present a case of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis with unusual endobronchial lesion which was confirmed by endobronchial biopsy.