Long-Term Consequences of Spirometry During Military Routine Medical Examinations on Smoking Cessation Compared to Minimal Advice.

BACKGROUND: Smoking kills 8 million people a year worldwide. It is the most prevalent cause of death in France by cancer, cardiovascular, or respiratory diseases. Minimal advice consists in asking patients who smoke if they are interested in quitting. It is effective in reducing smoking. The French High Health Authority recommends its systematic use with patients, whatever their reason for seeking treatment. The beneficial effect of spirometry on smoking cessation is controversial. The objective of our study was to measure the consequences of spirometry associated with minimal advice, compared with only minimal advice in soldiers seen during a routine medical examination. METHODS: Our prospective, longitudinal, open, multicenter, controlled, randomized study was conducted among French military smokers presenting for an occupational medicine visit. Each participant received, depending on their group (intervention or control), either minimal advice associated with an evaluation of lung function by mini-spirometer, or only minimal advice. Follow-up visits were performed at 6 and 12 months. The primary objective was self-reported tobacco use cessation at 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 267 participants (126 in the intervention group and 141 for the control arm) were included in 10 centers between June 2019 and June 2020. The response rate was 75.6% at 6 months. The cessation rates were 17% and 18% in the intervention and control groups, respectively, with no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.9). The cessation rate in the general population was 13% at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Spirometry does not seem to influence smoke cessation on a military population at 6 months. The overall cessation rate in our study was well in excess of the 3-6% expected from only providing minimal which is underused in general practice and should be encouraged.

Single-centre experience of transbronchial cryobiopsy as a first choice method for the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease.

OBJECTIVES: The diagnosis of interstitial lung disease is based on clinical and biological analysis associated with computed tomography (CT) pattern after discussion in multidisciplinary discussion. Lung transbronchial cryobiopsy has emerged with acceptable diagnostic reliability and low morbidity and mortality. The goal of our work is to describe our experience with lung cryobiopsy. METHODS: This is monocentric and retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on epidemiological, clinical, biological, CT, respiratory and histological features of patients with lung transbronchial cryobiopsy between January 1st, 2017, and July 1st, 2020. RESULTS: Lung transbronchial cryobiopsy has been done for 23 patients with sex ratio M/F of 1.1, majority of smoker/former smoker. Thirty-nine percent of procedures were complicated by pneumothorax. On the haemorrhagic level, we reported 1 grade 2 bleeding (no serious bleeding). An histological diagnosis was obtained for 19 patients (82%). Only 4 patients needed to discuss surgical lung biopsy: 2 (8.6%) surgical lung biopsy, 1 refused surgical lung biopsy and 1 patient lost to follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that transbronchial lung cryobiopsy may be considered the first diagnostic modality instead of surgical lung biopsy for interstitial lung disease in appropriate patients. Larger studies are, however, needed to confirm our observations.