Bronchiectasis-COPD Overlap Syndrome: Role of Peripheral Eosinophil Count and Inhaled Corticosteroid Treatment.

Both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis are highly prevalent diseases. In both cases, inhaled corticosteroids (ICs) are associated with a decrease in exacerbations in patients with a high peripheral blood eosinophil count (BEC), but it is still not known what occurs in bronchiectasis-COPD overlap syndrome (BCOS). The present study aimed to assess the effect of ICs on various outcomes in patients with BCOS, according to BEC values. We undertook a post-hoc analysis of a cohort of 201 GOLD II-IV COPD patients with a long-term follow-up (median 74 [IQR: 40-106] months). All participants underwent computerized tomography and 115 (57.2%) had confirmed BCOS. A standardized clinical protocol was followed and two sputum samples were collected at each medical visit (every 3-6 months), whenever possible. During follow-up, there were 68 deaths (59.1%), and the mean rate of exacerbations and hospitalizations per year was 1.42 (1.2) and 0.57 (0.83), respectively. A total of 44.3% of the patients presented at least one pneumonic episode per year. The mean value of eosinophils was 402 (112) eosinophils/µL, with 27 (23.5%), 63 (54.8%), and 25 patients (21.7%) presenting, respectively, less than 100, 101-300, and more than 300 eosinophils/µL. A total of 84 patients (73.1%) took ICs. The higher the BEC, the higher the annual rate of exacerbations and hospitalizations. Patients with less than 100 eosinophils/µL presented more infectious events (incident exacerbations, pneumonic episodes, and chronic bronchial infection via pathogenic bacteria). Only those patients with eosinophilia (>300 eosinophils/µL) treated with ICs decreased the number (1.77 (1.2) vs. 1.08 (0.6), p < 0.001) and the severity (0.67 (0.8) vs. 0.35 (0.5), p = 0.011) of exacerbations, without any changes in the other infectious outcomes or mortality. In conclusion, ICs treatment in patients with BCOS with increased BEC decreased the number and severity of incident exacerbations without any negative influence on other infectious outcomes (incidence of pneumonia or chronic bronchial infection).

Changes in sleep-disordered breathing from the acute to the stable phase of pulmonary embolism: The ESAET study.

BACKGROUND: /Objective: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) may change from the acute to stable phase of some cardiovascular disorders, but little is known whether these dynamic changes also exist in pulmonary embolism (PE). This study aimed to analyze the changes in the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) from the acute to stable phase of PE as well as the factors associated. PATIENTS/METHODS: We conducted a prospective, longitudinal and multicenter study of consecutive adults requiring hospitalization for non-hypotensive acute PE, with a protocol including clinical, imaging (transthoracic echocardiography [TTE] and computed tomography), blood tests and a sleep study within 48 h of diagnosis of PE. After 3 months of follow-up, the sleep study was repeated. Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction was defined according to TTE criteria. RESULTS: One hundred and eleven patients (mean age [SD]: 63 [15] years; body mass index: 28.4 [4.7] kg/m2) were included. The initial AHI was 24.4 (21.8) events/h (AHI≥5: 82.8 %; AHI≥30: 33.3 %). Seventy-seven patients (69.4 %) had RV dysfunction. In the overall cohort, the AHI decreased by 8.7 events/h from the acute to stable phase (24.4/h vs. 15.7/h; p=0.013). Patients with RV dysfunction showed a greater decrease in AHI (mean decrease 12.3/h vs. 0.43/h). In the multivariable analysis a drop of an AHI≥5 events/hour was independently associated with the presence of initial RV dysfunction (hazard ratio 3.9; 95%CI 1.3 to 12.1). CONCLUSIONS: In hemodynamically stable patients with acute PE, there is a transient but clinically significant decrease in the AHI from the acute to stable phase, particularly when initially presenting with RV dysfunction.

Etiology of Bronchiectasis in the World: Data from the Published National and International Registries.

Bronchiectasis is the third leading chronic inflammatory disease of the airway caused by dozens of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary diseases. Infection by pathogenic microorganisms is very common. We aimed to analyze, for the first time in the literature, the etiology of bronchiectasis throughout the world via data published in national and international registries. A bibliographic search was carried out in PubMed and Web of Science. Seven studies were included, with a total of 27,258 patients from 33 countries of four continents. The most frequent cause of bronchiectasis was post-infectious: 30.5% (range: 19.1-40.4%), followed by idiopathic: 28.7% (18.5-38.1%). Post-tuberculous bronchiectasis accounted for 14.1% (1.8-35.5%), while etiologies associated with COPD and asthma comprised 7% (3.4-10.9%) and 5.2% (2.5-7.8%). In conclusion, there was a high degree of heterogeneity in the relative percentages of the main causes of bronchiectasis in the world, although post-infectious and idiophatic bronchiectasis continue to be the most frequent causes.

Isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients-Should We Treat It?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most frequent inflammatory diseases of the airways [...].

Role of Sleep Apnea and Long-Term CPAP Treatment in the Prognosis of Patients With Melanoma: A Prospective Multicenter Study of 443 Patients.

BACKGROUND: OSA has been associated with increased incidence and aggressiveness of melanoma. However, the long-term impact of OSA and CPAP treatment on the prognosis of melanoma remains unexplored. RESEARCH QUESTION: Are OSA and CPAP treatment associated independently with a poor prognosis for cutaneous melanoma? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Four hundred forty-three patients with a diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma (2012-2015) underwent a sleep study within 6 months of diagnosis. The main 5-year outcome of the study was a composite of melanoma recurrence, metastasis, or mortality. Patients were divided into four groups: baseline apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of fewer than 10 events/h (no OSA; control group), OSA treated with CPAP and good adherence, untreated or poor CPAP adherence in moderate (AHI, 10-29 events/h), and severe OSA (AHI, ≥ 30 events/h). Survival analysis was used to determine the independent role of OSA and CPAP treatment on melanoma composite outcome. RESULTS: Three hundred ninety-one patients (88.2%) were available for analysis at 5-year follow-up (mean age, 65.1 ± 15.2 years; 49% male; Breslow index, 1.7 ± 2.5 mm). One hundred thirty-nine patients had AHI of fewer than 10 events/h (control group); 78 patients with OSA were adherent to CPAP; and 124 and 50 patients had moderate and severe OSA, respectively, without CPAP treatment. Median follow-up was 60 months (interquartile range, 51-74 months). During follow-up, 32 relapses, 53 metastases, and 52 deaths occurred (116 patients showed at least one of the main composite outcomes). After adjusting for age, sex, sentinel lymph nodes affected at diagnosis, BMI, diabetes, nighttime with an oxygen saturation below 90%, Breslow index, Epworth sleepiness scale scores, and melanoma treatment, moderate (hazard ratio [HR], 2.45; 95% CI, 1.09-5.49) and severe OSA (HR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.36-6.42) were associated with poorer prognosis of melanoma compared with the control group. However, good adherence to CPAP avoided this excess risk (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 0.71-3.90). INTERPRETATION: Moderate to severe untreated OSA is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis of melanoma. Treatment with CPAP is associated with improved melanoma outcomes compared with untreated moderate to severe OSA.

Significance and Potential Role of Eosinophils in Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis.

Bronchiectasis is a complex and heterogeneous disease with a myriad of pulmonary and extrapulmonary etiologies. Bronchiectasis has a predominantly neutrophilic inflammatory profile. However, eosinophilic inflammation has also been documented in both the airways and the systemic circulation. Various diseases (eg, asthma, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps) characterized by heightened type 2 airway inflammatory responses, including blood or sputum eosinophilia, may coexist with bronchiectasis. Apart from those eosinophilic etiologies or comorbidities related to bronchiectasis, around 20% of patients with bronchiectasis have peripheral eosinophilia (at least 3% or 300 eosinophils/µL) with no identified concomitant disease (also termed "eosinophilic bronchiectasis"), whose roles have not been fully understood. The two key points regarding these observations are that eosinophils confer both bactericidal and antiviral properties against common pathogenic microorganisms that are usually detected in bronchiectasis, and that eosinophilic bronchiectasis has been associated with better therapeutic response to inhaled corticosteroids and other anti-TH2 profile treatments. In this review, we summarize the most significant evidence regarding the role of eosinophils in patients with bronchiectasis, including the association of bronchiectasis with eosinophilic diseases (as etiologies or comorbidities), and existing data on eosinophilic bronchiectasis not related to eosinophilic disorders.

Placebo response in objective and subjective measures of hypersomnia in randomized clinical trials on obstructive sleep apnea. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sleepiness is one of the outcomes most used in randomized clinical trials (RCT) on the effect of treatments for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Furthermore, it is known that there is a placebo effect, especially in subjective measures. Therefore, given that sleepiness is a subjective measure, the objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis and three-level meta-regression was to assess the response to different placebos (pills and sham-CPAP) used in RCTs in OSA, both on subjective (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS]) and objective (Multiple Sleep Latency Test [MSLT], Maintenance Wake Test [MWT], the Osler test and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task [PVT]). We observed a statistically significant placebo effect in both subjective and objective measures of hypersomnia, and in both sham-CPAP and pills. This placebo effect was greater, even clinically significant, in subjective measures (ESS: -2.84 points) and in those RCTs that used pills as a placebo. In the meta-regression, only a higher baseline value of the ESS and Osler test was related to the placebo effect.