A 66-Year-Old Man With Subacute Cough and Worsening Dyspnea Previously Diagnosed With COVID-19 Pneumonia.

A 66-year-old man presented with subacute cough and worsening dyspnea. Labs were notable for moderate peripheral eosinophilia, and computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated extensive crazy-paving throughout bilateral upper lung fields. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) revealed macrophages with lipid-filled vacuoles and negative periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stain. Further history obtained from the patient and family was notable for daily application of commercially available vapor rub to nares and intentional deep inhalation of nebulized fluids containing scented oils. The patient was diagnosed with exogenous lipoid pneumonia through an unusual route of lipid administration.

Therapeutic hypothermia and mortality in the intensive care unit: systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is defined as the designed reduction of the human body's core temperature to 32°C-35°C for a period of 24-48 hours. TH has been studied extensively in many diseases related to critical care illness. This meta-analysis assesses the effect of TH on mortality across different indications in medical, neurological and cardiothoracic care. DATA SOURCES: The online databases Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, TRIP and CINAHL were searched for eligible studies published between 1940 and October 2018. STUDY SELECTION: Randomised clinical trials of induced TH in adults for any indication. DATA EXTRACTION: Information about baseline characteristics of patients, mortality outcomes, cooling strategy and target temperature achieved in hypothermia and normothermia groups was collected. DATA SYNTHESIS: Eighty studies, with a total of 13 418 patients, were included in this meta-analysis: 22 studies for traumatic brain injury, six studies for stroke, five studies for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), 34 studies for intraoperative cardiopulmonary bypass, and 13 studies for other diseases. A total of 6901 patients (51.4%) were randomly allocated to the TH group and 6517 patients (48.6%) were randomised to the normothermia control group. The unadjusted analysis showed no significant difference in mortality across different critical care illnesses. However, after adjusting for population, gender, age and temperature, only the OHCA group showed a small statistically significant difference favouring TH, but this had a questionable clinical significance. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests that after decades of extensive research, TH has yet to show a beneficial effect on mortality across different critical care diseases.

Viruses and non-allergen environmental triggers in asthma.

Asthma is a complex inflammatory disease with many triggers. The best understood asthma inflammatory pathways involve signals characterized by peripheral eosinophilia and elevated immunoglobulin E levels (called T2-high or allergic asthma), though other asthma phenotypes exist (eg, T2-low or non-allergic asthma, eosinophilic or neutrophilic-predominant). Common triggers that lead to poor asthma control and exacerbations include respiratory viruses, aeroallergens, house dust, molds, and other organic and inorganic substances. Increasingly recognized non-allergen triggers include tobacco smoke, small particulate matter (eg, PM2.5), and volatile organic compounds. The interaction between respiratory viruses and non-allergen asthma triggers is not well understood, though it is likely a connection exists which may lead to asthma development and/or exacerbations. In this paper we describe common respiratory viruses and non-allergen triggers associated with asthma. In addition, we aim to show the possible interactions, and potential synergy, between viruses and non-allergen triggers. Finally, we introduce a new clinical approach that collects exhaled breath condensates to identify metabolomics associated with viruses and non-allergen triggers that may promote the early management of asthma symptoms.