Schematic approach to the diagnosis of multifocal lung opacities in the emergency department

Radiologists in the emergency department must be prepared to deal with any type of disease in any organ at any time. Many entities involving the chest can result in patients' presenting at the emergency department. This chapter deals with entities that manifest with multifocal lung opacities and that can be mistaken for pneumonia. To facilitate their identification, this chapter approaches these entities by considering their most characteristic distribution on chest X-rays, the main diagnostic modality used for thoracic problems in the emergency department. Our schematic approach includes the key findings in patients' personal histories, clinical examination, laboratory tests, and imaging studies that can be available during the initial workup.

Peripheral T helper subset profiling in idiopathic inflammatory myositis: Proof of concept

INTRODUCTION

There is a dearth of biomarkers in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies (IIM) to recognize ongoing muscle inflammation and distinguish damage from activity. Since IIM is an autoantibody-mediated disease with tertiary lymphoid organogenesis reported in the diseased muscles, we aimed to study the peripheral blood T helper (Th) subset profiling as a plausible reflection of ongoing muscle inflammation.

METHODS

Fifty-six patients of IIM were compared with 21 healthy controls (HC) and 18 patients with sarcoidosis. Th1, Th17, Th17.1, and Treg cells were identified after stimulation assays (BD Biosciences). Myositis autoantibodies were tested by line immunoassay (Euroimmune, Germany).

RESULTS

All Th subsets were elevated in IIM as compared with HC. As compared to HC, PM had elevated Th1 and Treg while Th17 and Th17.1 populations were higher in OM. Patients with sarcoidosis had higher Th1 and Treg but lower Th17 population as compared to IIM {Th1(69.1% vs 49.65%, p<0.0001), {Treg (12.05% vs 6.2%, p<0.0001), {Th17 (2.49% vs 4.4%, p<0.0001)}. Similar results were obtained when sarcoidosis ILD was compared with IIM ILD with a higher Th1 and Treg population but lower Th17 population in the former. No difference in T cell profile was observed after stratification for MSA positivity, type of MSA, clinical features of IIM and disease activity.

CONCLUSION

Th subsets in IIM are distinct from sarcoidosis and HC with a TH17 predominant paradigm, creating a case of exploring Th17 pathway and IL-17 blockers for the treatment of IIM. However, cell profiling cannot distinguish active from inactive disease limiting its predictive potential as a biomarker of activity in IIM.

Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis

The term idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis refers to a rare interstitial lung disease that predominantly involves the upper lobes. It has been considered a rare subtype of interstitial lung disease since 2013, when it was included in the joint consensus statement on the diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases published by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS). Currently, two distinct types of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis are recognized: the idiopathic type for cases in which it has not been possible to establish a specific etiology and a secondary type associated with a variety of different causes. The diagnosis of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis must be managed from a combined clinical and radiological perspective. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is the imaging method of choice for the evaluation and diagnosis of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. In many cases, the diagnosis will be based exclusively on the HRCT findings and histologic confirmation will be unnecessary. This article describes the clinical, radiological, and histological characteristics of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis, discussing the different associations with this entity and its differential diagnosis.

Efficacy of an educational intervention in the management of an inhalation device among nursing professionals of an emergency department

OBJECTIVE

To explore the most frequent errors of the inhalation technique (main topic for the pharmacological treatment of exacerbations of asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in the nursing staff of an emergency department, and to evaluate the efficacy of an educational intervention.

METHODS

Prospective quasi-experimental study, carried out in a hospital in Argentina during 2019. For the evaluation of the nursing staff, the steps of the Separ-Alat Consensus were used. The educational intervention consisted of oral explanation and visual demonstration of the inhalation technique. Paired data analysis was performed, and absolute and relative frequencies were calculated with their respective 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

A consecutive sample of 72 nurses was included, of which 95.83% (95%CI 88.30-99.13) made at least one error in the baseline assessment. The most frequent errors were the lack of indication to the patient to exhale prior to inhalation (83.72%), forgetting to remove the air chamber and repeat the steps before the second dose (81.40%). After immediate evaluation after receiving the educational intervention, 74.42% (95%CI 58.83-86.49) corrected the technique. However, at one month, 53.49% (23/43; 95%CI 37.66-68.86) performed the technique correctly.

CONCLUSIONS

The educational intervention could be effective in correcting errors in this practice, although its effects tend to fade over time. Therefore, we consider periodic and systematic education relevant to maintain a correct inhalation technique among professionals.