Comparison of Clinical Measures Among Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Patients with Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP) Patterns on High-Resolution Computed Tomography.

PURPOSE: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is a progressive and fatal interstitial lung disease (ILD) characterized by a typical radiographic or histologic usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern. In 2018, diagnostic categories of UIP based on computed tomography patterns were revised by the Fleischner Society. The study aimed to describe differences in comorbidities and spirometry in ILD patients that were characterized by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images as having a typical, probable, indeterminate, and alternative diagnosis of UIP. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 80 ILD patients from 2017 to 2019. Typical UIP was defined using the Fleischner Society diagnostic criteria for IPF. Atypical UIP was reached by consensus after a multidisciplinary clinical-radiological-pathological review of patient data. Baseline characteristics, comorbidities, and spirometry were compared among the four subgroups. RESULTS: Among 80 patients, 59% were male, 61% had a history of smoking, and the mean age was 67.7 ± 10 years (SD). A typical UIP pattern was more frequently observed among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (p < 0.001) and pulmonary hypertension (p = 0.03). Of 30 patients with COPD, 14 had emphysema, while 10 had IPF. After adjusting for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in liters, change of FEV1% from baseline to 6-12 months, age, and sex, only COPD remained significantly associated with typical UIP (p = 0.018). Tobacco use was not significantly associated with any radiographic type (p = 0.199). CONCLUSION: Typical UIP was prevalent among COPD/emphysema patients. Although smoking has a strong association with IPF, we did not find a significant association with smoking and typical UIP in our cohort.

Acute Respiratory Decompensation Requiring Intubation in Pregnant Women with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

There is a current paucity of information about the obstetric and perinatal outcomes of pregnant novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in North America. Data from China suggest that pregnant women with COVID-19 have favorable maternal and neonatal outcomes, with rare cases of critical illness or respiratory compromise. However, we report two cases of pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 in the late preterm period admitted to tertiary care hospitals in New York City for respiratory indications. After presenting with mild symptoms, both quickly developed worsening respiratory distress requiring intubation, and both delivered preterm via caesarean delivery. These cases highlight the potential for rapid respiratory decompensation in pregnant COVID-19 patients and the maternal-fetal considerations in managing these cases.

Advances in Targeted Therapy for Progressive Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Disease.

Progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease (PF-ILD) has been redefined as a new clinical syndrome that shares similar genetics, pathophysiology, and natural history to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is the most common form of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias, which is progressive in nature and is associated with significant mortality. Therapies targeting an inflammatory and/or immune response have not been consistently effective or well tolerated in patients with IPF. The two antifibrotic drugs approved for IPF treatment, nintedanib and pirfenidone, have been shown to reduce lung function decline in PF-ILD. Novel uses of antifibrotic therapy are emerging due to a paucity of evidence-based treatments for multiple ILD subtypes. In this review, we describe the current body of knowledge on antifibrotic therapy and immunomodulators in PF-ILD, drawing from experience in IPF where appropriate.

Effects of deep sedation on sleep in critically ill medical patients on mechanical ventilation.

Atypical EEG patterns not consistent with standard sleep staging criteria have been observed in medical intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Our aim was to examine the relationship between sleep architecture and sedation in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients pre- and post-extubation. We performed a prospective observational repeated measures study where 50 mechanically ventilated patients with 31 paired analyses were examined at an academic medical centre. The sleep efficiency was 58.3 ± 25.4% for intubated patients and 45.6 ± 25.4% for extubated patients (p = .02). Intubated patients spent 76.33 ± 3.34% of time in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep compared to 64.66 ± 4.06% of time for extubated patients (p = .02). REM sleep constituted 1.36 ± 0.67% of total sleep time in intubated patients and 2.06 ± 1.09% in extubated patients (p = .58). Relative sleep atypia was higher in intubated patients compared to extubated patients (3.38 ± 0.87 versus 2.79 ± 0.42; p < .001). Eleven patients were sedated with propofol only, 18 patients with fentanyl only, 11 patients with fentanyl and propofol, and 10 patients had no sedation. The mean sleep times on "propofol", "fentanyl", "propofol and fentanyl," and "no sedation" were 6.54 ± 0.64, 4.88 ± 0.75, 6.20 ± 0.75 and 4.02 ± 0.62 hr, respectively. The sigma/alpha values for patients on "propofol", "fentanyl", "propofol and fentanyl" and "no sedation" were 0.69 ± 0.04, 0.54 ± 0.01, 0.62 ± 0.02 and 0.57 ± 0.02, respectively. Sedated patients on mechanical ventilation had higher sleep efficiency and more atypia compared to the same patients following extubation. Propofol was associated with higher sleep duration and less disrupted sleep architecture compared to fentanyl, propofol and fentanyl, or no sedation.

Prevalence and Predictors of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Critically Ill Medical Patients Who Underwent Diagnostic Duplex Ultrasonography.

INTRODUCTION: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a recognized but preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the medical intensive care unit (MICU). We examined the prevalence and risk factors for DVT in MICU patients who underwent diagnostic venous duplex ultrasonography (DUS) and the potential effect on clinical outcomes. METHODS: This is a retrospective study examining prevalence of DVT in 678 consecutive patients admitted to a tertiary care level academic MICU from July 2014 to 2015. Patients who underwent diagnostic DUS were included. Potential conditions of interest were mechanical ventilation, hemodialysis, sepsis, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores, central venous catheters, prior DVT, and malignancy. Primary outcomes were pulmonary embolism, ICU length of stay, and mortality. Additionally, means of thromboprophylaxis was compared between the groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine predictors of DVT occurrence. RESULTS: Of the 678 patients, 243 (36%) patients underwent DUS to evaluate for DVT. The prevalence of DVT was 16% (38) among tested patients, and a prior history of DVT was associated with DVT prevalence (P < .01). Between cases and controls, there were no significant differences in central venous catheters, mechanical ventilation, hemodialysis, sepsis, SOFA scores, malignancy, and recent surgery. Patients receiving chemical prophylaxis had fewer DVTs compared to persons with no prophylaxis (14% vs 29%; P = .01) and persons with dual chemical and mechanical prophylaxis (P = 0.1). Fourteen percent of patients tested had documented DVT while on chemoprophylaxis. There were no significant differences in ICU length of stay (P = .35) or mortality (P = .34). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the appropriate use of universal thromboprophylaxis, critically ill nonsurgical patients still demonstrated high rates of DVT. A history of DVT was the sole predictor for development of proximal DVT on DUS testing. Dual chemical and mechanical prophylaxis does not appear to be superior to single-chemical prophylaxis in DVT prevention in this population.

Improvement in Physical Activity in Persons With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treated With Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.

BACKGROUND: Exercise improves sleep quality, yet people with untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may engage in less physical activity (PA) due to fatigue and daytime sleepiness. We examined changes in PA and sleep quality before and after treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in OSA patients. METHODS: In this prospective longitudinal study, persons with a primary diagnosis of OSA were enrolled at a community-based hospital in New York City. At 3 time intervals pre- and post-CPAP (3-8 months), we measured sleep quality using validated questionnaires, perceived PA using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and actual PA using pedometer steps per day. We sought to investigate how CPAP use and changes in sleep quality impacted the number of steps taken, as recorded in pedometer steps. RESULTS: In total, 62 patients were enrolled in the study from March 2012 to July 2014. In all, patients averaged 53 years of age, and 26 patients (42%) were female. Among all participants, 86% of persons had moderate to severe sleep apnea (AHI ≥15). Approximately 73% of participants were compliant with CPAP use. Poor sleep quality correlated with lower actual PA (P = .004) at baseline. At 3 and 7 months, there was significant improvement in sleep quality (Δ -2.63 ± 3.4 and Δ -3.5 ± 3.8; P < .001) and actual PA (Δ 840 ± 1313 and Δ 1431 ± 1419 steps/day, P < .001) compared with baseline. On multivariate analyses, participants with a higher waist circumference had a significantly greater increase in actual PA (P = .018). CONCLUSION: Treatment of OSA with CPAP had a progressive incremental improvement in sleep quality and actual PA.

Obstructive sleep apnea and acute respiratory failure: An analysis of mortality risk in patients with pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation.

PURPOSE: Although obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common and pneumonia is a frequent cause of acute respiratory failure requiring admission to the intensive care unit, little is known about the effect of OSA on this patient population. This study examined outcomes associated with OSA in patients with pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was investigated for discharges with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation between 2009 and 2011. Persons aged 18 to 75 years with OSA were compared with patients without OSA. Outcomes included in-hospital mortality and nonroutine discharges. RESULTS: Among 74032 hospitalizations, 13.8% (10227) were obese, and 10.3% (7610) had OSA. Obstructive sleep apnea patients had decreased in-hospital mortality (17.0% vs 25.8%; P < .01) and nonroutine discharge (74.4% vs 79.4%; P < .01) when compared with non-OSA patients. In adjusted logistic models, OSA was associated with a 27% decreased risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.79; P < .01) and a 21% decreased risk of nonroutine discharge (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.84; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: In mechanically ventilated patients with pneumonia, OSA was associated decreased in-hospital mortality and nonroutine discharge. It is possible that differences in treatment pattern may partially explain improved survival.

Sexually dimorphic functional connectivity in response to high vs. low energy-dense food cues in obese humans: an fMRI study.

Sexually-dimorphic behavioral and biological aspects of human eating have been described. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis, we investigated sex-based differences in functional connectivity with a key emotion-processing region (amygdala, AMG) and a key reward-processing area (ventral striatum, VS) in response to high vs. low energy-dense (ED) food images using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in obese persons in fasted and fed states. When fed, in response to high vs. low-ED food cues, obese men (vs. women) had greater functional connectivity with AMG in right subgenual anterior cingulate, whereas obese women had greater functional connectivity with AMG in left angular gyrus and right primary motor areas. In addition, when fed, AMG functional connectivity with pre/post-central gyrus was more associated with BMI in women (vs. men). When fasted, obese men (vs. women) had greater functional connectivity with AMG in bilateral supplementary frontal and primary motor areas, left precuneus, and right cuneus, whereas obese women had greater functional connectivity with AMG in left inferior frontal gyrus, right thalamus, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. When fed, greater functional connectivity with VS was observed in men in bilateral supplementary and primary motor areas, left postcentral gyrus, and left precuneus. These sex-based differences in functional connectivity in response to visual food cues may help partly explain differential eating behavior, pathology prevalence, and outcomes in men and women.

Comparison of body adiposity index (BAI) and BMI with estimations of % body fat in clinically severe obese women.

OBJECTIVE: Body adiposity index (BAI), a new surrogate measure of body fat (hip circumference/(height(1.5) - 18)), has been proposed as an alternative to body mass index (BMI). We compared BAI with BMI, and each of them with laboratory measures of body fat-derived from bioimpedance analysis (BIA), air displacement plethysmography (ADP), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in clinically severe obese (CSO) participants. DESIGN AND METHODS: Nineteen prebariatric surgery CSO, nondiabetic women were recruited (age = 32.6 ± 7.7 SD; BMI = 46.5 ± 9.0 kg/m(2) ). Anthropometrics and body fat percentage (% fat) were determined from BIA, ADP, and DXA. Scatter plots with lines of equality and Bland-Altman plots were used to compare BAI and BMI with % fat derived from BIA, ADP, and DXA. BAI and BMI correlated highly with each other (r = 0.90, P < 0.001). RESULTS: Both BAI and BMI correlated significantly with % fat from BIA and ADP. BAI, however, did not correlate significantly with % fat from DXA (r = 0.42, P = 0.08) whereas BMI did (r = 0.65, P = 0.003). BMI was also the single best predictor of % fat from both BIA (r(2) = 0.80, P < 0.001) and ADP (r(2) = 0.65, P < 0.001). The regression analysis showed that the standard error of the estimate (SEE), or residual error around the regression lines, was greater for BAI comparisons than for BMI comparisons with BIA, ADP, and DXA. Consistent with this, the Bland and Altman plots indicated wider 95% confidence intervals for BAI difference comparisons than for BMI difference comparisons for their respective means for BIA, ADP, and DXA. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, BAI does not appear to be an appropriate proxy for BMI in CSO women.

Sex-based fMRI differences in obese humans in response to high vs. low energy food cues.

Gender specific effects on human eating have been previously reported. Here we investigated sex-based differences in neural activation via whole-brain blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in response to high energy-dense (high-ED) vs. low-ED visual and auditory food cues in obese men vs. women in both fed and fasted states. The results show that in response to high vs. low ED foods in the fed state, obese men (vs. women) had greater activation in brain areas associated with motor control regions (e.g. supplementary motor areas) whereas women showed greater activation in cognitive-related regions. In the fasted state, obese men had greater activation in a visual-attention region whereas obese women showed greater activation in affective and reward related processing regions (e.g. caudate). Overall the results support our a priori hypothesis that obese women (vs. men) have greater neural activation in regions associated with cognition and emotion-related brain regions. These findings may improve our understanding of sex specific differences among obese individuals in eating behavior.

Plasma cortisol levels in response to a cold pressor test did not predict appetite or ad libitum test meal intake in obese women.

Heightened cortisol response to stress due to hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may stimulate appetite and food intake. In this study, we assessed cortisol responsivity to a cold pressor test (CPT) as well as appetite ratings and subsequent test meal intake (TMI) in obese women. Following an overnight fast on two counterbalanced days, 20 obese women immersed their non-dominant hand for 2min in ice water (CPT) or warm water (WW) as a control. Plasma cortisol (ng/ml), heart rate, and blood pressure, as well as ratings of stress, pain, and appetite, were serially acquired. An ad libitum liquid meal was offered at 45min and intake measured covertly. Fasting cortisol was higher at 15min (mean peak cortisol) following the CPT compared to WW. Higher stress was reported at 2 and 15min for the CPT compared to WW. Pain, an indirect marker of the acute stress, systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased following the CPT at 2min compared to WW. Hunger decreased after the CPT at 2 and 15min, and desire to eat ratings were lower following CPT compared to WW. Subjects did not have greater test meal intake (TMI) following CPT compared to WW. There was also no significant relationship between cortisol levels following stress and TMI, indicating that cortisol did not predict subsequent intake in obese women.