Feature Channels: Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

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Newswise Live Expert Panel for April 30, 2020: New tech from engineers, assessing the recession

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Through serendipity, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health considerably reduced the toxicity of a potential antibiotic against the most feared drug-resistant bacteria, while also improving its stability in fighting infections.

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Early reports of COVID-19 symptoms and the compelling need to quickly identify treatment options and curb the growing number of critically ill patients have led to erroneous and potentially dangerous comparisons between COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases like high altitude pulmonary edema, or HAPE.

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Researchers report evidence that the compounds in e-cigarette liquid could potentially cause the body’s tissue repair process to go haywire and lead to scarring inside the lungs.

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While both sexes have the capacity for phenomenal athletic achievements, women on average must work harder to breathe during strenuous exercise compared to men, according to new research.

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Ventilators have gotten a lot of attention in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. But hundreds of hospitals around the world have another, less-publicized weapon that might help some of the most desperately ill patients survive when ventilators aren’t enough. It's called ECMO.

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O SARS-CoV-2, o vírus que causa o COVID-19, continua a se espalhar, levando a mais de 20.000 mortes em todo o mundo em menos de quatro meses. Esforços estão progredindo para desenvolver uma vacina para o COVID-19, mas é provável que isso ainda leve de 12 a 18 meses.

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Hemidiaphragmatic paresis, or HDP, is a condition in which one side of the diaphragm is weakened, resulting in shortness of breath and reduced respiratory function. It can occur when a patient is given regional anesthesia for shoulder surgery, using the supraclavicular nerve block. Researchers are trying to determine the right amount of anesthesia to use in the supraclavicular block so that the block still works but the chances of developing HDP are low.

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Study: with smaller clinical trials, it may be up to doctors to notice rare drug side effects

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How individuals, and health care professionals, deal with infection from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, varies depending on the severity of the infection.

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New guidance is available for physicians who must go through a number of steps to provide a probable diagnosis of sarcoidosis – an inflammatory disease that affects the lungs, lymph glands, and other organs.

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A team of university students and engineers has developed a low-cost ventilator using off-the-shelf components that is designed to aid patients with varying degrees of lung failure.

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The first COVID-19 patient in Texas has been enrolled in a stem cell therapy clinical trial for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

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If you don’t have COVID-19, you probably want to stay as far away from a hospital as possible right now. However, the fact is that some people still need emergency surgery. If you or a loved one are in this situation – for any reason – you should know that experts say regional anesthesia may be better than general anesthesia to keep everyone in the operating room safe.asr

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World-leading air quality and health expert QUT Professor Lidia Morawska and Professor Junji Cao from Chinese Academy of Sciences in an article in Environment International published this week called on health bodies to initiate research into the airborne transmission of COVID-19 as it is happening

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A new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai suggests that blood clots, especially in the lungs, may play a role in severe cases of COVID-19.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every Tuesday throughout the duration of the outbreak.

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Rapidly escalating numbers of COVID-19 patients suffering from respiratory failure threaten to overwhelm hospital capacity and force healthcare providers into making challenging decisions about the care they provide. Of particular interest is the role of ECMO – extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a form of life support for patients with advanced lung disease – to support critically ill patients in the current pandemic.

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It is well known that smoking results in worse outcomes in people with pneumonia or influenza, and we are learning that smoking can pose significant risks in those with COVID-19.

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People with conditions such as spinal cord injury, Lou Gehrig's disease and multiple sclerosis are at risk of developing severe respiratory problems related to COVID-19 because the muscles that help them breathe already may not function normally.

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Scientists at the University of Alberta have shown that the drug remdesivir is highly effective in stopping the replication mechanism of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to new research published today in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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Clinicians grappling with the pharmacologic management of COPD in patients complaining of exercise intolerance or dyspnea now have new guidance. The American Thoracic Society has published an official clinical practice guideline in which a panel of experts strongly recommended LABA/LAMA combination therapy over LABA or LAMA alone. The complete guideline detailing all the recommendations was posted online ahead of print in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Spring allergies are in full force. So how do you know if your symptoms are due to allergies or the COVID-19 virus? In a new video, “How allergy symptoms differ from COVID-19,” Loyola Medicine allergist Rachna Shah, MD, outlines the different symptoms for each, and why it's important to keep your spring allergy and asthma symptoms under control during this pandemic.

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As the COVID crisis continues to test the capacity of the healthcare system, what interventions are necessary to turn the tide of new infections, will the relief package have an impact, and how will a prolonged shutdown affect our economy?

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A Rutgers researcher is testing modified sleep apnea machines intended to help relieve the shortage of mechanical ventilators for COVID-19 patients and is testing a prototype for a second system called the NYU Tandon AirVENT. It is a portable, personal, negative pressure hood that sucks virus particles exhaled by the wearer into a filter and traps them.

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Mount Sinai Health System is the first in the country to use an innovative allogeneic stem cell therapy in COVID-19 patients and will play a central role in developing and conducting a rigorous clinical trial for patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, the breathing illness that afflicts people who have severe cases of COVID-19.

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Improved pulmonary outcomes in surgical patients who receive the drug sugammadex could be due to a more complete reversal of the effects of muscle relaxants used during surgery.

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E-cigarette use during pregnancy could be harmful to the respiratory systems of both mothers and fetuses, according to a new study in the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

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iNO has been used for the treatment of failing lungs, but it was also found to have antiviral properties against coronaviruses.The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been selected to begin enrolling patients in an international study assessing the use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) to improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients with severely damaged lungs.

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Researchers have identified the most common clinical characteristics of 109 patients with COVID-19 related pneumonia who died in Wuhan, China in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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With support from Amazon Web Services, UC San Diego Health physicians are using AI in a clinical research study aimed at speeding the detection of pneumonia, a condition associated with severe COVID-19.

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A team of physician-scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are now enrolling patients in a clinical trial to evaluate a common anti-clotting drug for the treatment of COVID-19-positive patients with ARDS. The newly launched trial follows a special report the team published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery that suggested the use of a drug called tPA could reduce deaths among patients with ARDS as a complication of COVID-19.

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There are some critical things to know about how to use a nonmedical mask correctly, because when used incorrectly, which is pretty easy to do, you could actually put yourself and others more at risk. Physicians at UTHealth break it all down.

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An American Thoracic Society-led international task force has released a guidance document to help clinicians manage COVID-19 patients in the face of a worldwide pandemic and minimal empirical evidence to guide treatment. The new guidance – “COVID-19: Interim Guidance on Management Pending Empirical Evidence”– is published as an open access document on the American Thoracic Society’s website.

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In a new study, researchers identified the most common characteristics of 85 COVID-19 patients who died in Wuhan, China in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. The study reports on commonalities of the largest group of coronavirus patient deaths to be studied to date. The paper was published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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An international team led by University of British Columbia researcher Dr. Josef Penninger has found a trial drug that effectively blocks the cellular door SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect its hosts.

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Summaries of recent Fred Hutch research findings with links for additional background and media contacts.

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Updated CT scoring criteria that considers lobe involvement, as well as changes in CT findings, could quantitatively and accurately evaluate the progression of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia, according to an open-access article in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR).

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The University of Illinois at Chicago is participating in two clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments.

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In response to a pressing need for more ventilators to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients, a team led by Johns Hopkins University engineers is developing and prototyping a 3D-printed splitter that will allow a single ventilator to treat multiple patients. Though medical professionals have expressed concerns about the safety and effectiveness of sharing ventilators, the team has designed this tool to address those concerns.

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University of Kentucky virologist Rebecca Dutch answers key questions related to the novel coronavirus. Dutch discusses the virus’ origin, transmission rates, mutation, testing, the difference between COVID-19 and SARS/MERS, and more.

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Because COVID-19 attacks the lungs, limiting social contact is extremely important for people who have underlying health conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, and any additional chronic lung illness.

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The initial experience of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) management for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Shanghai, China provides guidance for management of critically ill COVID-19 patients worldwide, reports a study in the ASAIO Journal. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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An international team including McMaster University researchers has come together to issue guidelines for health-care workers treating intensive care unit (ICU) patients with COVID-19.

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The Trump Administration’s decision to roll back emission and mileage standards for cars and trucks is bad for respiratory health.

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The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses has created an online course that specifically addresses the most serious reported symptoms from COVID-19. The course is available to all nurses, at no charge, to provide vital resources during this challenging time.