Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on body weight in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A series of studies has reported weight gain in association with COVID-19 lockdowns; typically, this research has had short-term follow-up in populations that tended to gain weight. In this study, the effect of prolonged lockdowns on weight was assessed in a population of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Before lockdown subjects gained an average of 0.022 kg per month; after lockdown this trend reversed with subjects losing weight at 0.032 kg per month, a trend that was highly significant (P < 0.001).

A case of pulmonary transthyretin amyloidosis with concurrent mycobacterial tuberculosis infection.

Amyloidosis is a pathological deposition disease that causes a spectrum of organ dysfunction. Pulmonary involvement is generally associated with immunoglobulin light chain type (AL) amyloid. Transthyretin (ATTR) amyloid build up in the lung is thought to be a senile disease observed usually as a finding at autopsy. We describe a case of pulmonary ATTR amyloidosis with concurrent mycobacterial tuberculosis infection.

Impaired diffusing capacity and COPD incidence in adults with symptoms and normal spirometry.

BACKGROUND: Impaired diffusing capacity of the lung (DLCO) in the absence of post-bronchodilator (BD) airflow obstruction has been proposed as a marker of 'Pre-COPD'. However, the relationship between impaired DLCO and subsequent lung function decline and COPD incidence has not been examined in-depth. METHODS: We conducted an observational study of adults aged between 40 and 70 years who were evaluated at a multi-centre lung function laboratory in Australia between 2014 and 2024. Adults referred with respiratory symptoms or a clinical suspicion of obstructive airways disease with follow-up spirometry obtained ≥ 12 months after the initial assessment were included. The relationship between impaired DLCO and subsequent lung function decline and COPD incidence was assessed among those with normal spirometry at baseline. RESULTS: A total of 266 patients with a mean age of 53.2 (SD 12.8) years were evaluated after a median follow-up of 2.3 [IQR 1.5 to 3.3] years. We found no evidence of an association between impaired DLCO (below the lower limit of normal) and annualised rate of decline in post-BD FEV1 (MD -0.1% predicted per-year, 95%CI -1.3 to 1.2), FVC (-0.4% predicted, 95%CI -1.6 to 0.8) or FEV1/FVC (-0.1% per-year, 95%CI -0.1 to 0.1). The sensitivity of impaired DLCO for COPD incidence was 40%, and specificity 82%. Findings were similar in sub-samples limited to current and former smokers, and when impaired DLCO was defined as < 80% predicted. CONCLUSION: Impaired DLCO was not an effective discriminator of lung function decline or COPD incidence in this real-world cohort.