Relapsing polychondritis is a rare disease that causes inflammation and destruction of cartilage and connective tissue. It can be associated with other autoimmune rheumatologic and hematologic diseases. Herein, we report a 38-year-old male patient with relapsing polychondritis and diffuse stenosis of the left main bronchus.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is characterized by variable airflow limitation. FEF25-75 has been proposed as a reliable marker for bronchial obstruction, especially when FEV1 and FEV1/FVC are normal.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of FEF25-75 in patients with asthma seen in clinical settings.
METHODS: The cross-sectional study included 439 (181 females and 255 males; mean age 39 years) outpatients with asthma who consecutively visited an allergy clinic for a routine assessment. History, physical examination, asthma control, and spirometry were evaluated.
RESULTS: FEF25-75 was impaired (< 65% of predicted) in 136 (31%) outpatients. Considering only subjects with normal FEV1 and FEV1/FVC, FEF25-75 was impaired in 71 (19.6%) subjects. In this subset, impaired FEF25-75 was associated with low FEV1 and FEV1/FVC values (OR 0.91 and 0.85, respectively), and presence of asthma symptoms (OR 2.19).
CONCLUSIONS: FEF25-75 deserves adequate and careful consideration in patients with asthma and normal FEV1 and FEV1/FVC, as the presence of impaired FEF25-75 in this subset suggests a more specific approach.

UNASSIGNED: Respiratory insufficiency is a leading cause of death in individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). However, evaluating pulmonary function in OI presents challenges. Commonly used pulmonary function tests such as spirometry and body plethysmography are sometimes difficult to perform for OI patients, and reference intervals are not always applicable. The forced oscillation technique (FOT) is a patient-friendly method for detecting respiratory abnormalities that requires no effort from the patient.
UNASSIGNED: This study investigates the feasibility of FOT in the evaluation of respiratory function in the clinical management of OI patients.
UNASSIGNED: Twelve OI patients, comprising eight with Sillence OI I, two with OI IV, and two with OI III, underwent spirometry, body plethysmography, and FOT, both pre-and post-administration of salbutamol.
UNASSIGNED: FOT measurements exhibited consistent trends that aligned with spirometry and body plethysmography findings. The resistance at 8 Hz decreased after the administration of salbutamol, indicating that FOT is able to detect bronchial obstruction and its alleviation by medication (p < 0.05). The resonant frequency during expiration was higher than during inspiration in nearly all patients, suggesting obstructive disease. The technique gives insight into both inspiratory and expiratory impairment of pulmonary ventilation. The main FOT parameters showed a relatively high repeatability in duplicate measurements.
UNASSIGNED: Bronchial obstruction can be detected by FOT in patients with OI during quiet breathing, making it an easily executable alternative to other lung function measurements. The technique can detect the bronchodilator effect of sympathomimetic medication. It has the potential to provide information on expiratory flow limitation, pulmonary restriction, and reduced lung compliance.

Early diagnosis of bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumors is crucial as the surgical excision is the main treatment and determines the prognosis. We present the case of a 66-year-old heavy-smoker man who had started to complain about a cough a few months ago. We diagnosed him with an endobronchial mass on a chest computed tomography scan and lobar bronchoceles resulting from mucus plugging distal to the tumor obstruction. These findings were retrospectively visible on the previous chest radiograph that had initially been interpreted as non-contributary.

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Endobronchial lipomas are rare; nonetheless, physicians should consider them as a differential diagnosis in patients with repeated pneumonia. Computed tomography and bronchoscopy are recommended for diagnosis. In this case, the patient\'s cough was ameliorated after undergoing a right basal segmentectomy.

UNASSIGNED: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the respiratory disease that causes the greatest morbidity and mortality worldwide. Lung function parameters and systemic manifestations have been defined as prognostic factors; however, they have limitations. The aim of this study was to analyze whether inspiratory muscle strength could reflect lung hyperinflation, and therefore serve as a prognostic factor in COPD patients.
UNASSIGNED: We selected COPD patients who had performed a non-invasive respiratory muscle strength assessment and lung function testing between January 2015 and October 2017. Mortality was subsequently followed up until March 1, 2020.
UNASSIGNED: We included 140 COPD patients (GOLD stage I 5%, II 73.4%, and III 21.6%), of whom 10% died during follow-up. Bronchial obstruction, defined by FEV1, was a good predictor of mortality (p = 0.004). Lung hyperinflation, defined as inspiratory capacity (IC)/total lung capacity less than 25 and IC less than 65% of predicted increased mortality in COPD patients (p = 0.001 and p = 0.06, respectively). In this cohort, inspiratory muscle strength, measured by SNIP, was not a prognostic factor (p = 0.629).
UNASSIGNED: In COPD patients, lung hyperinflation is a prognostic factor, but inspiratory muscle function is not. Inspiratory muscle function in COPD patients depends not only on lung mechanics but also on intrinsic muscle factors.

Endobronchial tuberculosis is reported in 18% of adults and 30%-60% of children with primary pulmonary tuberculosis. We are reporting two infants who presented with nonspecific respiratory symptoms due to an obstructive tubercular polypoid mass which was detected on computed tomography. Bronchoscopy showed a pale friable polypoid lesion in the bronchus causing a luminal obstruction. The biopsy of the lesion was suggestive of tuberculosis. On treatment with antitubercular medications, both the babies improved and remained asymptomatic on long-term follow-up.

暂无摘要。

Teaching Point: Air trapping is a useful sign for early detection of worsening lobar collapse in the follow-up of obstructive atelectasis.