Clinical factors associated with viral shedding time of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Japan.

The Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 exhibits increased infectivity compared with all prior variants, and the timing of quarantine release should be carefully considered. However, to date, only two Chinese studies have analyzed the association between the viral shedding time (VST) and risk factors among patients infected with the Omicron variant. These studies included only limited numbers of severe cases and no analysis of underlying diseases and immunosuppressive drug use. Therefore, the current study aimed to analyze them in Japan. This retrospective observational study was conducted at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, from January 2022 to October 2022 and included 87 hospitalized patients and 305 healthcare workers (HCWs) with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). In comparison with HCWs, hospitalized patients were significantly older and had a higher proportion of severe COVID-19 cases and significantly longer VST. A simple regression analysis showed that severe, current, or ex-smoking status, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, and use of corticosteroids for underlying diseases were significantly correlated with a longer VST. Moreover, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, and corticosteroid use were significantly associated with a longer VST. Therefore, COVID-19 patients with these underlying diseases may require a longer isolation period and the timing of quarantine release should be carefully considered.

Epidemiologic evaluation of pulmonary paragonimiasis in Japan using a Japanese nationwide administrative database.

BACKGROUND: Paragonimiasis is a parasitic disease primarily contracted through consumption of undercooked freshwater crustaceans or wild boar meat. Large-scale nationwide epidemiological data on paragonimiasis are lacking. In this study, we aimed to investigate the nationwide epidemiology of hospitalized patients with paragonimiasis in Japan using a comprehensive nationwide Japanese administrative database. METHODS: We evaluated the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) data of patients diagnosed with pulmonary paragonimiasis between April 1, 2012 and March 30, 2020. The patients' address and information, including age, sex, treatment (medication: praziquantel; surgery: open thoracotomy or intracranial mass extirpation), Japan coma scale, comorbidities, and length of hospital stay, were extracted. RESULTS: Of the 49.6 million hospitalized patients, data were extracted on 73 patients with paragonimiasis, of whom 36 were male and 37 were female. The mean age was 49.7 years and the mean length of stay was 12.5 days. The most frequent comorbidity was pleural effusion (31.5 %), followed by pneumothorax (13.7 %). The sites of ectopic paragonimiasis in organs other than the lung included the liver (5.5 %), skin (4.1 %), and brain (2.7 %). Geographically, most patients were from the Kyushu region (54.8 %), followed by the Kanto region (22.0 %). Fukuoka Prefecture had the highest number of patients (22.0 %) by prefecture. During the study period, an average of 9.1 patients/year were hospitalized with lung paragonimiasis in Japan. CONCLUSION: Paragonimiasis has not completely disappeared in Japan; thus, physicians should be aware of paragonimiasis in the Kyushu region, especially in the Fukuoka Prefecture.

The Effects of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress via Intratracheal Instillation of Water-Soluble Acrylic Acid Polymer on the Lungs of Rats.

Polyacrylic acid (PAA), an organic chemical, has been used as an intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It has been suggested recently that PAA has a high pulmonary inflammatory and fibrotic potential. Although endoplasmic reticulum stress is induced by various external and intracellular stimuli, there have been no reports examining the relationship between PAA-induced lung injury and endoplasmic reticulum stress. F344 rats were intratracheally instilled with dispersed PAA (molecular weight: 269,000) at low (0.5 mg/mL) and high (2.5 mg/mL) doses, and they were sacrificed at 3 days, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after exposure. PAA caused extensive inflammation and fibrotic changes in the lungs' histopathology over a month following instillation. Compared to the control group, the mRNA levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress markers Bip and Chop in BALF were significantly increased in the exposure group. In fluorescent immunostaining, both Bip and Chop exhibited co-localization with macrophages. Intratracheal instillation of PAA induced neutrophil inflammation and fibrosis in the rat lung, suggesting that PAA with molecular weight 269,000 may lead to pulmonary disorder. Furthermore, the presence of endoplasmic reticulum stress in macrophages was suggested to be involved in PAA-induced lung injury.

Altered Polarization and Impaired Phagocytic Activity of Lung Macrophages in People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

BACKGROUND: People with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) have an increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: We phenotyped lung macrophages in 4 subgroups-M1 (CD40+CD163-), M2 (CD40-CD163+), double positives (CD40+CD163+), and double negatives and (CD40-CD163-)-and we determined their phagocytic capacity in PWH with and without COPD. RESULTS: People with human immunodeficiency virus with COPD have more double-negative macrophages (84.1%) versus PWH without (54.3%) versus controls (23.9%) (P=.004) and reduced phagocytosis (P=.012). Double-negative macrophages had the worst phagocytic capacity (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: People with human immunodeficiency virus with COPD have an abundance of nonpolarized macrophages, which have poor phagocytic capacity and therefore predispose PWH to increased risk of disease progression.

Inflammogenic effect of polyacrylic acid in rat lung following intratracheal instillation.

BACKGROUND: Some organic chemicals are known to cause allergic disorders such as bronchial asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and it has been considered that they do not cause irreversible pulmonary fibrosis. It has recently been reported, however, that cross-linked acrylic acid-based polymer, an organic chemical, might cause serious interstitial lung diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis. We investigated whether or not intratracheal instillation exposure to cross-linked polyacrylic acid (CL-PAA) can cause lung disorder in rats. METHODS: Male F344 rats were intratracheally instilled with dispersed CL-PAA at low (0.2 mg/rat) and high (1.0 mg/rat) doses, and were sacrificed at 3 days, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after exposure to examine inflammatory and fibrotic responses and related gene expressions in the lungs. Rat lungs exposed to crystalline silica, asbestos (chrysotile), and NiO and CeO2 nanoparticles were used as comparators. RESULTS: Persistent increases in total cell count, neutrophil count and neutrophil percentage, and in the concentration of the cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC)-1, CINC-2 and C-X-C motif chemokine 5 (CXCL5), which correlated with lung tissue gene expression, were observed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from 3 days until at least 1 month following CL-PAA intratracheal instillation. Persistent increases in heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the lung tissue were also observed from 3 days to 6 months after exposure. Histopathological findings of the lungs demonstrated that extensive inflammation at 3 days was greater than that in exposure to silica, NiO nanoparticles and CeO2 nanoparticles, and equal to or greater than that in asbestos (chrysotile) exposure, and the inflammation continued until 1 month. Fibrotic changes also progressed after 1 month postexposure. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that CL-PAA potentially causes strong neutrophil inflammation in the rat and human lung.

Comparative study of bacterial flora in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of pneumonia patients based on their pneumonia subtypes and comorbidities using 16S ribosomal RNA gene analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The culture method is the gold standard for identifying pathogenic bacteria in patients with pneumonia but often does not reflect the exact bacterial flora in pulmonary lesions of pneumonia, partly owing to easiness or difficulties in culturing certain bacterial species. We aimed to evaluate bacterial flora in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples directly obtained from pneumonia lesions using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene analysis to compare the results of the BALF culture method in each category of pneumonia. METHODS: Bacterial florae were detected by a combination of the culture method, and the clone library method using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing in BALF directly obtained from pneumonia lesions in pneumonia patients from April 2010 to March 2020 at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, and affiliated hospitals. Clinical information of these patients was also collected, and lung microbiome was evaluated for each pneumonia category. RESULTS: Among 294 pneumonia patients (120 with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), 101 with healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP), and 73 with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP)), significantly higher percentages of obligate anaerobes were detected in CAP than in HCAP and HAP patients by the clone library method. Corynebacterium species were significantly highly detected in HAP patients and patients with cerebrovascular diseases than in patients without, and Streptococcus pneumoniae was frequently detected in patients with diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: Obligate anaerobes may be underestimated in patients with CAP. Corynebacterium species should be regarded as the causative bacteria for pneumonia in patients with HAP and cerebrovascular diseases.

Reduced phagocytic activity of human alveolar macrophages infected with Mycobacterium avium complex.

INTRODUCTION: Co-infection of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) with other bacteria is associated with increased frequency of hospitalization and reduced quality of life. However, the clinical significance of co-infection with NTM and other bacteria remains unclear. Here, we investigated the distribution of alveolar macrophage populations, characterized their phagocytic function in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and assessed the bactericidal function of macrophages infected with NTM using cell lines. METHODS: BALF samples were prospectively obtained from 30 patients with suspected NTM lung disease to evaluate phagocytic activities of macrophages using immunostaining. Bactericidal activities of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Mycobacterium intracellulare (M. intracellulare)-infected or -non-infected macrophages were evaluated using macrophage cell lines. RESULTS: Eleven patients with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection and 19 patients with chronic lower respiratory tract infections except for NTM infection (controls) were enrolled. The percentage of non-polarized (HLA-DR+, CD40-, and CD163-) macrophages in patients infected with MAC was significantly higher than that in controls; non-polarized macrophages demonstrated an impaired ability to phagocytose S. aureus. In vitro experiments revealed higher intracellular S. aureus colony-forming unit counts and proinflammatory cytokine levels in M. intracellulare-infected macrophages than in non-NTM-infected macrophages. Electron microscopy showed morphologically damaged macrophages and M. intracellulare and S. aureus growing in the same phagosome. CONCLUSION: The proportion of alveolar macrophages (HLA-DR+, CD40-, and CD163-) with impaired phagocytosis increased in MAC-infected individuals. M. intracellulare-infected macrophages reduced bactericidal activity in vitro. Dysfunction of alveolar macrophages may contribute to persistent infection by other bacteria, leading to MAC lung disease progression.

Effects of additive corticosteroid therapy on 90-day survival in patients with community-onset pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: Systemic corticosteroid therapy is occasionally used as an additive therapy, especially for patients with severe pneumonia. However, its recommendation for use in patients with pneumonia varies worldwide, and its efficacy is unclear. METHODS: Adult Japanese patients hospitalized with community-onset pneumonia between January and December 2012 were analyzed using the Diagnostic Procedure Combination database. The patients were classified into mild-to-moderate and severe groups using the A-DROP (age, dehydration, respiration, orientation, and blood pressure) system. The 90-day survival rate was evaluated between the presence or absence of corticosteroid treatment using the Kaplan-Meier method in the overall, mild-to-moderate and severe groups, respectively. The patients' clinical characteristics were adjusted between the two groups using the inverse probability of treatment weighting method. RESULTS: Among 123,811, 110,534 patients were classified as mild-to-moderate grade (corticosteroid group: 8,465, non-corticosteroid group: 102,069) and 13,277 patients were classified as severe grade (corticosteroid group: 1,338, non-corticosteroid group: 11,939). The 90-day survival rate was higher in the non-corticosteroid group than in the corticosteroid group in patients with pneumonia of overall grade (weighted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.36; P < 0.001) and those with mild-to-moderate grade (weighted HR: 1.46; P < 0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the outcomes between the two groups in those with severe grade (weighted HR: 1.08; P = 0.38). CONCLUSIONS: Additive systemic corticosteroid therapy may be related to poor 90-day prognosis in patients with mild-to-moderate grade community-onset pneumonia, although it may not be positively associated with its prognosis in those with severe grade.

Effects of Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-Acting ß2-Agonist Combination on the Airway Microbiome of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (DISARM).

Rationale: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly prescribed with long-acting ß2-agonists (LABA) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To date, the effects of ICS therapy on the airway microbiome in COPD are unknown. Objectives: To determine the effects of ICS/LABA on the airway microbiome of patients with COPD. Methods: Clinically stable patients with COPD were enrolled into a 4-week run-in period during which ICS was discontinued and all participants were placed on formoterol (Form) 12 µg twice daily (BID). The participants were then randomized to budesonide/formoterol (Bud + Form; 400/12 µg BID), fluticasone/salmeterol (Flu + Salm; 250/50 µg BID), or formoterol only (12 µg BID) for 12 weeks. Participants underwent bronchoscopy before and after the 12-week treatment period. The primary endpoint was the comparison of changes in the airway microbiome over the trial period between the ICS/LABA and LABA-only groups. Measurements and Main Results: Sixty-three participants underwent randomization: Bud + Form (n = 20), Flu + Salm (n = 22), and Form (n = 21) groups; 56 subjects completed all visits. After the treatment period, changes in α-diversity were significantly different across groups, especially between Flu + Salm and Form groups (Δrichness: P = 0.02; ΔShannon index: P = 0.03). Longitudinal differential abundance analyses revealed more pronounced microbial shifts from baseline in the fluticasone (vs. budesonide or formoterol only) group. Conclusions: Fluticasone-based ICS/LABA therapy modifies the airway microbiome in COPD, leading to a relative reduction in α-diversity and a greater number of bacterial taxa changes. These data may have implications in patients who develop pneumonia on ICS. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02833480).

Effect of Different Molecular Weights of Polyacrylic Acid on Rat Lung Following Intratracheal Instillation.

BACKGROUND: We conducted intratracheal instillations of different molecular weights of polyacrylic acid (PAA) into rats in order to examine what kinds of physicochemical characteristics of acrylic acid-based polymer affect responses in the lung. METHODS: F344 rats were intratracheally exposed to a high molecular weight (HMW) of 598 thousand g/mol or a low molecular weight (LMW) of 30.9 thousand g/mol PAA at low and high doses. Rats were sacrificed at 3 days, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post exposure. RESULTS: HMW PAA caused persistent increases in neutrophil influx, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractants (CINC) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the lung tissue from 3 days to 3 months and 6 months following instillation. On the other hand, LMW PAA caused only transient increases in neutrophil influx, CINC in BALF, and HO-1 in the lung tissue from 3 days to up to 1 week or 1 month following instillation. Histopathological findings of the lungs demonstrated that the extensive inflammation and fibrotic changes caused by the HMW PAA was greater than that in exposure to the LMW PAA during the observation period. CONCLUSION: HMW PAA induced persistence of lung disorder, suggesting that molecular weight is a physicochemical characteristic of PAA-induced lung disorder.

Crosslinked Structure of Polyacrylic Acid Affects Pulmonary Fibrogenicity in Rats.

We conducted intratracheal instillations of polyacrylic acid (PAA) with crosslinking and non-crosslinking into rats in order to examine what kinds of physicochemical characteristics of acrylic-acid-based polymers affect responses in the lung. F344 rats were intratracheally exposed to similar molecular weights of crosslinked PAA (CL-PAA) (degree of crosslinking: ~0.1%) and non-crosslinked PAA (Non-CL-PAA) at low and high doses. Rats were sacrificed at 3 days, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months post-exposure. Both PAAs caused increases in neutrophil influx, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractants (CINC) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the lung tissue from 3 days to 6 months following instillation. The release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in the BALF was higher in the CL-PAA-exposed groups. Histopathological findings of the lungs demonstrated that the extensive fibrotic changes caused by CL-PAA were also greater than those in exposure to the Non-CL- PAA during the observation period. CL-PAA has more fibrogenicity of the lung, suggesting that crosslinking may be one of the physicochemical characteristic factors of PAA-induced lung disorder.

Exposure to PM2.5 is a risk factor for acute exacerbation of surgically diagnosed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Short-term exposure to ozone and nitrogen dioxide is a risk factor for acute exacerbation (AE) of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF). The comprehensive roles of exposure to fine particulate matter in AE-IPF remain unclear. We aim to investigate the association of short-term exposure to fine particulate matter with the incidence of AE-IPF and to determine the exposure-risk time window during 3 months before the diagnosis of AE-IPF. METHODS: IPF patients were retrospectively identified from the nationwide registry in Japan. We conducted a case-control study to assess the correlation between AE-IPF incidence and short-term exposure to eight air pollutants, including particulate matter < 2.5 µm (PM2.5). In the time-series data, we compared monthly mean exposure concentrations between months with AE (case months) and those without AE (control months). We used multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models to consider individual and institutional-level variables, and also adjusted these models for several covariates, including temperature and humidity. An additional analysis with different monthly lag periods was conducted to determine the risk-exposure time window for 3 months before the diagnosis of AE-IPF. RESULTS: Overall, 152 patients with surgically diagnosed IPF were analyzed. AE-IPF was significantly associated with an increased mean exposure level of nitric oxide (NO) and PM2.5 30 days prior to AE diagnosis. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) with a 10 unit increase in NO was 1.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-1.93], and PM2.5 was 2.56 (95% CI 1.27-5.15). Additional analysis revealed that AE-IPF was associated with exposure to NO during the lag periods lag 1, lag 2, lag 1-2, and lag 1-3, and PM2.5 during the lag periods lag 1 and lag 1-2. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that PM2.5 is a risk factor for AE-IPF, and the risk-exposure time window related to AE-IPF may lie within 1-2 months before the AE diagnosis. Further investigation is needed on the novel findings regarding the exposure to NO and AE-IPF.

A fatal case of COVID-19-associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

A 79-year-old Japanese man with polymyalgia rheumatica was admitted to hospital with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). On admission, he was treated with ciclesonide inhalation, ivermectin, and meropenem. He was intubated 6 days after admission, and methylprednisolone therapy was initiated (1000 mg/day). Hypoxemia and chest radiographic findings temporarily improved. However, chest computed tomography showed bilateral ground-glass attenuations, multiple nodules, and consolidation. Aspergillus fumigatus was cultured from the tracheal aspirate and he was diagnosed with COVID-19-associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) and treated with liposomal amphotericin B. However, he died 28 days after admission.

Evaluation of histological specimens obtained by two types of EBUS-TBNA needles: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration is a standard method for obtaining specimens of mediastinal and hilar lesions. Several types of needles of various sizes and materials are available. This study aimed to compare the quality of specimens collected using two needles, cobalt chromium and stainless steel for endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration. METHODS: This retrospective study included data of patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA with a 22-gauge needle made from either stainless steel (41 lesions, 121 punctures) or cobalt chromium (47 lesions, 145 punctures). Histological data per puncture, diagnostic yield per lesion, procedure time and complication rates were compared. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the groups in the baseline characteristics of the patients or lesions or in the complication rates. The rate of diagnostic histological specimens in each sample (71.0% vs. 58.7%, P = 0.039), fewer samples with cartilage alone (1.4% vs. 6.6%, P = 0.047) and fewer samples containing cartilage (7.6% vs. 16.5%, P = 0.034) were seen in the cobalt chromium needle group than in the stainless steel needle group. In both groups, the rate of specimens that only contained blood clots in each sample and diagnostic yield per lesion were similar, but the procedure time was significantly shorter (22 min vs. 26 min, P = 0.007) in the cobalt chromium needle group. CONCLUSION: Compared with stainless steel needles, cobalt chromium needle for EBUS-TBNA showed lower cartilage contamination and a higher ratio of obtaining diagnostic specimens in each sample. Bronchoscopists should consider using the optimal needle gauges and materials for collecting adequate specimens.

[A Case of a Bronchial Foreign Body (Artificial Tooth) in the Right Middle Bronchus Without Respiratory Symptoms].

Patients with bronchial foreign bodies often present with subjective symptoms, mainly cough, and removing the foreign bodies is difficult. Bronchial foreign bodies are mostly located in the right lower bronchus, and rarely in the right middle bronchus. An 85-year-old man had no subjective symptoms. He aspirated an artificial tooth during dental treatment the day before visiting our clinic, and consulted his home doctor. He was admitted to our hospital because a chest radiograph indicated the presence of a foreign body in the right middle and lower lung field. Chest computed tomography showed that the bronchial foreign body was located in the right middle bronchus, and it was accompanied by an artifact in the circumference of the lesion, and it seemed to be the metal piece of an artificial tooth. Three-dimensional CT showed the root of the artificial tooth located in center side of the right middle bronchus, and, considering the invasiveness, we decided to remove the tooth by flexible bronchoscopy. The bronchoscopy revealed a metal piece occluding the right middle bronchus without granulation, and we could remove the tooth immediately by grasping the root of the tooth with alligator forceps. We experienced a case of a foreign body located in the right middle bronchus without respiratory symptoms. It is important to carry out image examinations, because elderly patients may not exhibit respiratory symptoms.

[A Case of Papillary Thyroid Cancer Diagnosed as Recurrent Pulmonary Metastases Diagnosed by Transbronchial Biopsies 18 Years After Surgery].

We report a 79-year-old woman, who had undergone surgery for papillary thyroid carcinoma 18 years previously and lung adenocarcinoma 15 years previously. She didn't receive any follow-up because she had no recurrence for 5 years in both diseases. She visited a local doctor with precordial pain and thorax discomfort as her chief complaints, where chest computed tomography indicated a 14 mm-sized nodule in the right lower lobe and 5-7 mm-sized small nodules in both lungs. Using endobronchial ultrasonography with a guide sheath (EBUS-GS) for the diagnosis in our department, the lesions were confirmed by ultrasonography, and a transbronchial biopsy was carried out under fluoroscopy. Pathologically, a sufficient amount of tumor cells were collected, and the findings of adenocarcinoma were obtained. Her condition was diagnosed as recurrent pulmonary metastases of thyroid papillary carcinoma because of the atypical columnar epithelial cells with nuclear variants and the papillary proliferation of intranuclear inclusion, and because of the positive findings in immunohistochemical staining for thyroglobulin. Since papillary thyroid carcinoma is positive for thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), which is widely used as a marker of lung adenocarcinoma, it cannot be used to differentiate between the two. It is often difficult to diagnose papillary thyroid carcinoma by bronchoscopy, because its progress is slow and the origin of the metastatic lung tumor is not in the bronchus, unlike primary lung cancer. However, a devised transbronchial biopsy procedure for slowly progressive metastatic lung tumors such as papillary thyroid carcinoma is considered to be a useful technique for diagnosis.

A Case of Pulmonary Infectious Bulla Caused by Mycobacterium Avium.

A 37-year-old Japanese man presented with a bulla with niveau-like opacity in the right upper lung on chest radiography. Air-fluid level gradually increased despite broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. Right upper lobectomy was performed, and epithelioid granuloma with mycobacteria was histopathologically observed. Bacterial culture of the fluid was negative, but mycobacterial culture was positive for Mycobacterium avium; therefore, the patient was diagnosed with pulmonary infected bulla caused by Mycobacterium avium. He was further treated with antimycobacterial agents after resection of the infected bulla. To our knowledge, this is the first report of pulmonary infected bulla caused by only Mycobacterium avium in the English literature.

[A Retrospective Study of Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) Performed on Tuberculous Lymphadenitis Cases].

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has been reported to be useful not only for the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis of lung cancer but also for benign diseases. We retrospectively analyzed the results of patients with tuberculous lymphadenitis (TL) who had undergone EBUS-TBNA between November 2010 and January 2016. EBUS-TBNA was performed in 427 cases during that period. Six cases were finally diagnosed as TL. The punctured lymph node was 8 lesions. Pathological findings consistent with TL were obtained in all 6 cases (100%), and the tissue specimens were positive in Ziehl-Neelsen staining in 3 of the 6 cases (50%). In all 6 cases, the acid-fast bacteria (AFB) smear test of the needle rinse fluid was negative, 2 cases were positive for AFB culture (33.3%), and 2 cases were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-PCR test (33.3%). In this study, the positive rate of mycobacterial culture and the MTB-PCR test of the needle rinse fluid was low, though the concordance rate of pathological findings with TL was high (100%). The results suggest that EBUS-TBNA should be carefully evaluated in patients with TL, considering the low positive rate of mycobacterial culture and MTB-PCR test in the needle rinse fluid.

Distribution and annual changes in the proportion of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes in Japanese adults with pneumococcal pneumonia from 2011 to 2017.

In 2014, vaccinations with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) were implemented in Japan for all adults aged ≥65 years. We previously clarified reductions in the proportions of PCV7-, PCV13-, and PPSV23-covered serotypes in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia after the initiation of PCV7 and PCV13 vaccinations for Japanese children; however, information about the annual changes in the proportion of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia after the initiation of routine PPSV23 vaccinations remains unclear. We retrospectively studied 229 adults with pneumococcal pneumonia which S. pneumoniae was cultured from their lower respiratory tract samples between 2011 and 2017 and investigated the annual changes in the proportion of S. pneumoniae serotypes. The proportion of PPSV23-covered serotypes decreased from 71.4% in 2011 to 52.2% in 2014, but it remained essentially unchanged from 2015 to 2017. The proportions of PCV7-covered serotypes decreased from 46.4% in 2011 to 4.3% in 2014; however, this rate increased beginning in 2015 and reached 20.6% in 2017. Among the PCV7-covered serotypes, the proportion of the 19F serotype increased from 2015 to 2017. In conclusion, there were no obvious changes in the proportion of PPSV23-covered and PCV13-covered serotypes in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia after the initiation of routine PPSV23 vaccinations.

Temporal echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary hypertension in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients treated with nintedanib with or without oxygen therapy.

BACKGROUND: Nintedanib is an inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinases, including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, but its effects on pulmonary hypertension (PH) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients with chronic hypoxia were unclear. METHODS: This study included a nintedanib prospective study and historical control study. In the nintedanib prospective study, pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) measured using transthoracic echocardiography was evaluated at six points during 48 weeks in 16 IPF patients in whom nintedanib was started. In the historical control study, adjusted annual change in PASP was compared between patients treated with (n = 16) and without (n = 15) nintedanib. RESULTS: In the nintedanib prospective study, the mean PASP at 48 weeks after starting nintedanib was significantly higher compared to that at baseline. When IPF patients were divided into two groups, IPF patients with or without long-term oxygen treatment (LTOT), mean PASP at 48 weeks was significantly higher than that at baseline only in IPF patients receiving LTOT (P = 0.001). In the historical control study, adjusted annual change in PASP in IPF patients treated with nintedanib was significantly lower than that in patients treated with no antifibrotic agents when considering patients without LTOT (0.26 mmHg vs 7.05 mmHg; P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: We found differential effects of nintedanib on PH between IPF patients with or without LTOT. Nintedanib may have a disadvantageous effect on PH in IPF patients with LTOT. Conversely, nintedanib treatment may be beneficial to PH in IPF patients without LTOT.