The Role of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Detecting Early Dysglycemia and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) is the most common comorbidity in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). CFRD has been correlated with important clinical outcomes, including poor nutrition, reduced pulmonary function, and earlier mortality. However, clinical decline due to abnormalities of blood glucose (dysglycemia) begins early in CF, before the diagnosis of CFRD by the gold-standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been validated in patients with CF and has been recognized as a valuable tool in detecting early glucose abnormalities in patients with CF. Several CGM parameters have been used to predict CFRD in some but not all studies, and there is no consensus regarding CGM use for diagnostic purposes. Thus, it remains a complementary test to OGTT in CFRD diagnosis. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the pathophysiological mechanisms of CFRD, recent advances in the use of CGM for CFRD screening, and the association between CGM measures and CF-related clinical outcomes.

NONINVASIVE MECHANICAL VENTILATION IN COVID-19 RELATED ACUTE RESPIRATORY FAILURE.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is presented with a wide range of symptoms, from asymptomatic disease to severe and progressive interstitial pneumonia. As part of interstitial pneumonia, respiratory failure is typically presented as hypoxia and is the most common cause of hospitalization. When oxygen therapy fails, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) are used as respiratory support measures of first choice. Noninvasive respiratory support (NIRS) is applied in order to save intensive care unit resources and to avoid complications related to invasive mechanical ventilation. Emerging evidence has shown that the use of CPAP or NIV in the management of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in COVID-19 reduces the need for intubation and mortality. The advantage of NIRS is the feasibility of its application on wards. NIV could be administered via a face mask or helmet interface. Helmet adheres better than mask and therefore leakage is reduced, a delivery of positive end-expiratory pressure is more accurate, and the risk of nosocomial transmission of infections is lowered. Patients on NIRS must be carefully monitored so that further respiratory deterioration is not overlooked and additional measures of care including timely intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation could be performed if needed.