Respirology

Coronavirus surrogates may stay on meat, fish in cold storage for up to a month

Audrey Abella, 2 days ago

Surrogates of SARS-CoV-2* – a lipid enveloped RNA bacteriophage (Phi6) and two animal coronaviruses (CoVs; MHV and TGEV**) – survived in cold-storage temperatures for 30 days, a study finds, highlighting the risk of viral survival on food products and potential transmission on humans upon consumption.

Poor cardiorespiratory fitness ups risk of mortality

3 days ago

An inverse, independent, and graded association exists between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and mortality risk across the spectra of age, sex, and race, a recent study has found. In addition, there is no risk increase seen among extremely fit individuals.

Double-dose tigecycline more effective than standard doses, but with potentially more side effects

6 days ago

Twice-daily 100-mg doses of tigecycline leads to better clinical response, bacterial clearance, and survival in intensive care unit patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, reports a recent meta-analysis. However, such a double-dose regimen may also show higher treatment toxicities.

Wearable device as good as polysomnography in estimating oxygen saturation during sleep

Tristan Manalac, 01 Aug 2022

A wrist-worn reflectance-based pulse oximeter can measure oxygen saturation during sleep with reasonable accuracy and small error, according to a recent study.

Rapid antigen test: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good

Pearl Toh, 23 Oct 2021

While rapid antigen test is less sensitive than conventional nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) such as RT-PCR* in detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus, “a test does not have to be perfect to be clinically useful,” said Professor Angela Caliendo during a session in IDWeek 2021 — echoing the maxim that perfect should not be the enemy of good in the pandemic era.

ID NOW rapid molecular assay an effective COVID-19 test for kids

Rapid COVID-19 testing: Is it as good in kids?

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20 Oct 2021

A large retrospective study from the US, presented at IDWeek 2021, has shown that the Abbott ID NOW rapid molecular COVID-19 assay is highly sensitive and specific at detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in a paediatric population.

Antigen rapid tests: The new COVID-19 strategy moving forward?

Roshini Claire Anthony, 31 Jul 2021

Same-day pre-event screening for SARS-CoV-2 using antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDT) may enable the resumption of large-scale indoor events which were halted or had their attendance capacity reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study from Spain presented at ECCMID 2021.

Combined Ag/Ab rapid testing boosts case-finding in COVID-19

Elvira Manzano, 29 Jul 2021

A rapid and affordable test for diagnosing COVID-19 outside the walls of the healthcare units could improve case-finding, contact tracing, and infection control, says an expert during a pre-ECCMID 2021 session.

Response analysis further establishes tezepelumab benefit in severe uncontrolled asthma

Roshini Claire Anthony, 27 Jun 2022

Adolescents and adults with severe uncontrolled asthma while on inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) had greater responses to the human monoclonal antibody tezepelumab than placebo, according to prespecified exploratory results of the phase III NAVIGATOR trial.

Fixed-dose albuterol/budesonide an effective rescue med in moderate-to-severe asthma

Roshini Claire Anthony, 15 Jun 2022

A fixed-dose combination of albuterol and budesonide, delivered as needed, reduced the risk of severe exacerbations in patients with moderate-to-severe asthma inadequately controlled with corticosteroid maintenance therapy, according to results of the phase III MANDALA trial presented at ATS 2022.

Novel PDE4 inhibitor slows IPF progression

Elaine Soliven, 10 Jun 2022

Treatment with BI 1015550, a novel investigational phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor, slows lung function decline in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with or without background antifibrotic therapy, according to a 12-week phase II trial data presented at ATS 2022.

Microwave ablation: a better treatment alternative for NSCLC?

Audrey Abella, 08 Jun 2022

In patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), image-guided thermal ablation (IGTA) via microwave ablation (MWA) appears to deliver better survival benefit compared with another IGTA subtype, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), according to a systematic review and meta-analysis presented at ATS 2022.

Weight loss intervention may improve COPD outcomes

Weight loss intervention may improve COPD symptoms

Roshini Claire Anthony, 07 Jun 2022

In addition to cardiometabolic benefits, a lifestyle intervention aimed at weight loss in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are overweight or obese may reduce COPD symptoms, according to results of the INSIGHT COPD trial presented at ATS 2022.

Imatinib may reduce mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Roshini Claire Anthony, 06 Jun 2022

The tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib may reduce mortality in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19, according to follow-up results of the CounterCOVID study presented at ATS 2022.