Is atopy a risk indicator of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in dairy farmers?

Allergic mechanisms related to environmental and occupational exposure have been suggested to contribute to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationships between atopy markers, persistent airflow limitation (PAL) and occupational exposure in dairy farmers. METHODS: Clinical and biological (total IgE and 21 allergen specific IgE) markers of atopy were assessed in 101 dairy farmers with PAL (DF-PAL), 85 non-farmers with PAL (NF-PAL) (both groups were prospectively included from a screening program performed between 2011 and 2015), and matched controls, i.e. 98 farmers without PAL (DF-controls) and 89 non-farming subjects without PAL (NF-controls). Occupational exposure in farmers was estimated using a validated questionnaire. RESULTS: Prevalence of allergy history was significantly higher in DF-PAL and in NF-PAL than in controls. Polysensitization, and sensitization to seasonal and food allergens were more frequent in DF-PAL than in DF-controls, respectively: 13.8% vs 1% (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 17.5 (2.2-134), 11.9% vs 3.1% (aOR: 4.4 (1.2-7.2) and 16.8% vs 4.1% (aOR: 5.2 (1.7-7.2)). The prevalence of atopy markers was similar between NF-PAL patients and NF-controls. CONCLUSIONS: PAL in farmers is associated with a high rate of markers of atopy, supporting atopy as a risk indicator. Clinical trial registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02540408).

[Screening for latent tuberculosis infection in immunosuppressed patients not infected with HIV]. / Dépistage de l'infection tuberculeuse latente chez les patients immuno­supprimés non infectés par le VIH.

Screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTI) is recommended in immunosuppressed patients due to an increased risk of progression from LTI to active tuberculosis. Screening involves indirect immunological tests such as the tuberculin skin test (TST) and the interferon-y release assays (IGRAs). IGRAs seem to show superior performance compared to TST in screening for LTI. However, their use and interpretation in immunosuppressed patients is questionable, particularly because of an increased number of false negative or indeterminate results and a low agreement between tests. Presently, there are no swiss national recommendations for their use in immunosuppressed -patients, except for candidates to anti-TNF treatment.

Le dépistage d'une infection tuberculeuse latente (ITL) est ­recommandé chez les patients immunosupprimés en raison du risque accru de la progression de l'ITL vers la tuberculose active. Son dépistage se fait notamment à l'aide de tests immunologiques indirects que sont le test de sensibilité à la tuberculine (TST) et les tests de détection de production de l'interféron-gamma (IGRA). Les IGRA semblent montrer une performance ­supérieure par rapport au TST dans le dépistage d'une ITL. Mais leur utilisation et leur interprétation chez les immunosupprimés sont sujettes à caution notamment à cause d'un nombre accru de résultats faussement négatifs ou indéterminés et d'une mauvaise concordance entre tests. À l'heure actuelle, il n'existe pas de ­recommandations nationales suisses sur leur utilisation chez les immunosupprimés mis à part pour les candidats au traitement anti-TNF (tumor necrosis factor).

Acute lupus pneumonitis as the initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a multisystem autoimmune disease with wide-ranging pleuropulmonary manifestations. Acute lupus pneumonitis is one of its uncommon complications. We report a 36-year-old woman with acute lupus pneumonitis as the initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus. Clinical, biological, radiological and functional improvements were noticed with the administration of steroids, hydroxychloroquine and immunoglobulin.

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of cystic fibrosis adults never colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Analysis of the French CF registry.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the main cause of chronic airway infection in cystic fibrosis (CF). However, for unclear reasons some patients are never colonized by P. aeruginosa. The objectives of this study were to better define the clinical, genetic, and microbiological characteristics of such a subpopulation and to identify predictive factors of non-colonization with P. aeruginosa. The French CF patient registry 2013-2014 was used to identify CF patients aged ≥ 20 years. The clinical outcomes, CF Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) genotypes, and microbiological data of patients reported positive at least once for P. aeruginosa ("Pyo" group, n = 1,827) were compared to those of patients with no history of P. aeruginosa isolation ("Never" group, n = 303). Predictive factors of non-colonization by P. aeruginosa were identified by multivariate logistic regression model with backward selection. Absence of aspergillosis (odds ratio (OR) [95% CI] = 1.64 [1.01-2.66]), absence of diabetes (2.25 [1.21-4.18]), pancreatic sufficiency (1.81 [1.30-2.52]), forced expiratory volume 1 (FEV1) ≥ 80% (3.03 [2.28-4.03]), older age at CF diagnosis (1.03 [1.02-1.04]), and absence of F508del/F508del genotype (2.17 [1.48-3.19]) were predictive clinical factors associated with absence of infection ("Never" group). Microbiologically, this same group was associated with more frequent detection of Haemophilus influenzae and lower rates of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Achromobacter xylosoxidans and Aspergillus spp. (all p<0.01) in sputum. This study strongly suggests that the absence of pulmonary colonization by P. aeruginosa in a minority of CF adults (14.2%) is associated with a milder form of the disease. Recent progress in the development of drugs to correct CFTR deficiency thus may be decisive in the control of P. aeruginosa lung infection.