A 51-Year-Old Woman With Interstitial Lung Disease and Subsequent COVID-19 Presenting With Worsening Dyspnea.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 51-year-old Puerto Rican woman, with a known but inconclusive diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (ILD) since 2002 and recent moderate COVID-19, is now presenting with subacute worsening dyspnea on exertion. The patient had sporadic medical care over the years for her ILD (Table 1). Prior workup included chest CT imaging with a "crazy-paving" pattern of lung disease, as defined by ground-glass opacity with superimposed interlobular septal thickening and visible intralobular lines. Bronchoscopy showed normal airway examination, and BAL revealed clear fluid with foamy macrophages and negative cultures. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and transbronchial biopsy specimens both showed foamy macrophages. Results of pulmonary function testing (PFT) revealed an isolated gas transfer defect on diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (Dlco). She had lived with mild yet nonprogressive functional impairment and stable exercise intolerance over these years. She was then hospitalized for COVID-19 in August 2020 and for recurrent shortness of breath in September 2020. She now presented 4 months following her September 2020 hospitalization.

Targeting the Complement Cascade in the Pathophysiology of COVID-19 Disease.

Severe coronavirus disease 2019 causes multi-organ dysfunction with significant morbidity and mortality. Mounting evidence implicates maladaptive over-activation of innate immune pathways such as the complement cascade as well as endothelial dysfunction as significant contributors to disease progression. We review the complement pathways, the effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on these pathways, and promising therapeutic targets in clinical trials.

Impact of Face Masks on 6-Minute Walk Test in Healthy Volunteers.

Our objective was to establish the impact of wearing a face mask on the outcome of six-minute walk test in healthy volunteers. In a study of 20 healthy volunteers who each completed two 6MWTs, one with a mask and one without, there was no difference in distance walked. However, there was a significant difference in perception of dyspnea between the two groups.