Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Thorac Dis 2019 Mar;11(3):673-685

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, China.

Background: The determination of risk factors for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients remains a challenge. Our study aims to explore the epidemiology and risk factors affecting outcomes of ARDS patients and provide a theoretical basis for patients' prognosis.

Methods: This retrospective study included 207 ARDS patients admitted to the general intensive care unit (ICU) in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from Jan 1st, 2016 to Jan 1st, 2017. Read More

Antioxid Redox Signal 2019 Apr 24. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

University of Arizona, Health Sciences, Tucson, Arizona, United States ;

Significance: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe, heterogeneous critical illness with staggering mortality that is influenced by environmental factors, such as mechanical ventilation, and genetic factors. Significant unmet needs in ARDS is addressing the paucity of validated predictive biomarkers for ARDS risk and susceptibility that hamper the conduct of successful clinical trials in ARDS and the complete absence of novel disease-modifying therapeutic strategies. Recent Advances: The current ARDS definition relies on clinical characteristics that fail to capture the diversity of disease pathology, severity, and mortality risk. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 Apr 22;16(8). Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Department of Public Administration and the Graduate School of Governance, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 02841, Korea.

Following the 2003 the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea, this research aims to explore and examine the factors influencing the response to infectious diseases, which encompasses both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Through a qualitative research method, this research categorizes the factors as inputs, processes and outputs and applies them into the 2003 SARS and MERS outbreak in South Korea. As the results conducted meta-analyses to comprehensively analyze the correlations of factors influencing disaster response from a Korean context, the findings show that the legislative factor had direct and indirect influence on the overall process of infectious disease response and that Leadership of the central government, establishment of an intergovernmental response system, the need for communication, information sharing and disclosure and onsite response were identified as key factors influencing effective infectious disease response. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Apr;98(16):e15190

Rationale: Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is a form of acute and usually reversible heart failure syndrome. Transient left ventricular dysfunction and electrocardiographic changes could mimic acute coronary syndrome but there are actually no obstructive coronary lesions.

Patient Concerns: A 76-year-old woman with chronic lung disease developed spontaneous tension pneumothorax with the presentation of severe dyspnea, respiratory failure, left ventricular dysfunction, and anterior wall ST-segment elevation on 12-lead electrocardiogram. Read More

Can Commun Dis Rep 2018 May 3;44(5):102-105. Epub 2018 May 3.

National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, WinnipegMB.

The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) emergency management program was developed after the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak to provide a framework for the responses to public health events. The program comprises three components (Site response, Continuity and Site support) that have adopted the Incident Command System (ICS) as their management structure and follows the four phases of emergency management. All program components have extensive competency-based training for staff and exercise plans. Read More

Can Commun Dis Rep 2018 May 3;44(5):98-101. Epub 2018 May 3.

Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Canada and the 100th anniversary of the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. These, and other recent public health events, provide an opportunity for us to review and reflect on the evolution of Canada's public health emergency response over the past 15 years-from SARS, to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza, to Ebola virus and Zika virus disease. Key lessons have been learned and milestones achieved that have shaped and sharpened our response approach and structures. Read More

Rev Mal Respir 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Inserm U1100, centre d'étude des pathologies respiratoires (CEPR), 37032 Tours cedex, France; Université de Tours, 37032 Tours cedex, France.

Pneumonia is frequently complicated by occurrence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), consequently to dysregulated inflammatory response. However, mechanisms driving this dysregulation are poorly understood. To address this, "unconventional T-cells (UTC)" -γδT, NKT and MAIT cells- appear to be relevant targets due to their key role in orchestrating anti-microbial immune response in the lung. Read More

Eur J Immunol 2019 Apr 18. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Radboud Expertise Center for Q fever, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Radboud university medical center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500, HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Besides fatigue, many Q fever fatigue syndrome (QFS) patients also complain of frequently recurring upper respiratory tract infections with severe symptoms. We investigated whether immunologic dysregulation contributes to these complaints. Cytokine and chemokine production was measured after stimulating monocytes of QFS patients and sex-matched healthy controls with LPS and several viral ligands. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2019 Mar;11(Suppl 3):S425-S427

Intensive Care Unit, Albert Einstein Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil.

Clin Exp Immunol 2019 May;196(2):155-156

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK.

In this two-part series of reviews, we have invited experts in their fields to contribute articles on the status of vaccine research and development for emerging pathogens. This topic has been brought into sharp focus in recent years following significant outbreaks of viral diseases such as those causing severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome, as well as devastating outbreaks of diseases caused by the Ebola, Marburg, Zika and Lassa fever viruses, to name only a few examples. Additionally, bacterial infections leading to bubonic and pneumonic plague, most notably in Madagascar in 2018, as well as malaria in many tropical countries, melioidosis in south east Asia and tularaemia in northern Europe and North America, have incurred significant morbidity and mortality. Read More

Respir Care 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Francisco at San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California.

Background: The Berlin definition of ARDS does not account for nonpulmonary organ failure, which is a major determinant of outcome. We examined whether an increasing severity of hypoxemia across the Berlin definition classifications also corresponded with evidence of multiple organ dysfunction on the day of ARDS onset. We also examined the representation of major etiologies for ARDS across the Berlin definition classifications. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Pneumology, School of Medicine in Katowice, Upper-Silesian Medical Center, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.

Respiratory failure is one of the most important risk factors for diagnostic bronchofiberoscopy (BF), whereas therapeutic bronchoscopies are typically performed in intubated patients. Only a few published studies analyzed the outcomes of noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIV)-facilitated BF. In this case series, we present our experiences with NIV-facilitated diagnostic and therapeutic BF performed in patients with respiratory failure that was associated with acute interstitial pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis exacerbation, foreign body aspiration, tracheal stenosis, pneumonia, and in a patient with a neuromuscular disease. Read More

Cureus 2019 Feb 1;11(2):e3997. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Internal Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, USA.

A previously healthy, 59-year-old female presented with respiratory distress and dry cough for one week. Outpatient radiographic findings were suspicious for basilar pneumonia. Empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics were started; however, she continued to deteriorate rapidly over the next 48 hours, with chest X-ray showing diffuse bilateral multifocal airspace opacities consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Apr 4;20(7). Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Translational Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening syndrome characterized by acute and severe hypoxemic respiratory failure. Visfatin, which is known as an obesity-related cytokine with pro-inflammatory activities, plays a role in regulation of inflammatory cytokines. The mechanisms of ALI remain unclear in critically ill patients. Read More

Respirology 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang, Republic of Korea.

In past decades, we have seen several epidemics of respiratory infections from newly emerging viruses, most of which originated in animals. These emerging infections, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the pandemic influenza A(H1N1) and avian influenza (AI) viruses, have seriously threatened global health and the economy. In particular, MERS-CoV and AI A(H7N9) are still causing infections in several areas, and some clustering of cases of A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) may imply future possible pandemics. Read More

A A Pract 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.

In severe pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome, data are lacking on methods to measure and set optimal positive end-expiratory pressure. We present a 2-year-old girl with Trisomy 21 who developed severe pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome and refractory hypoxemia from human metapneumovirus pneumonia. Esophageal manometry was utilized to measure transpulmonary pressure, and positive end-expiratory pressure was increased to 19 cm H2O, resulting in rapid improvement in oxygenation. Read More

Front Immunol 2019 28;10:549. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.

The world has developed an elaborate global health system as a bulwark against known and unknown infectious disease threats. The system consists of various formal and informal networks of organizations that serve different stakeholders; have varying goals, modalities, resources, and accountability; operate at different regional levels (i.e. Read More

IDCases 2019 23;15:e00529. Epub 2019 Mar 23.

University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.

A 23-year-old man with a viral-like prodrome developed sudden severe dyspnea and was found to have renal failure, anemia, shock, and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage with acute respiratory distress syndrome, requiring emergent endotracheal intubation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Travel and exposure history from peripheral sources revealed that the patient had participated in a 'mud-run' in Hawaii two weeks prior to symptom onset. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with leptospirosis and treated with ceftriaxone and doxycycline. Read More

Acute Med Surg 2019 Apr 10;6(2):180-184. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Department of Emergency Medicine Sapporo Medical University Sapporo Hokkaido Japan.

Case: There are several reports of retroperitoneal hemorrhage induced by percutaneous femoral cannulation for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). However, there are no reports of delayed retroperitoneal hemorrhage, which develops a few days after ECMO initiation and is unrelated to the ECMO cannulation. Herein, we report a rare case of delayed retroperitoneal hemorrhage during veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). Read More

PLoS One 2019 10;14(4):e0213836. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Denver Health Medical Center and the University of Colorado; Denver, Colorado, United States of America.

Objective: Machine learning techniques have demonstrated superior discrimination compared to conventional statistical approaches in predicting trauma death. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether machine learning algorithms can be used to assess risk and dynamically identify patient-specific modifiable factors critical to patient trajectory for multiple key outcomes after severe injury.

Methods: SuperLearner, an ensemble machine-learning algorithm, was applied to prospective observational cohort data from 1494 critically-injured patients. Read More

J Neurol 2019 Apr 6. Epub 2019 Apr 6.

Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Minami-kogushi 1-1-1, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.

The clinical features of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) are highly variable, according to the type of antecedent infection. Although a major GBS phenotype, Fisher syndrome (FS), has been shown to be preceded by infections similar to those preceding GBS, whether or not the clinical features in FS also vary according to antecedent infection remains unclarified. Frequent antecedent infections among this study of 70 FS patients included Haemophilus influenzae [n = 15 (21%)], Campylobacter jejuni [n = 10 (14%)], and cytomegalovirus (CMV) [n = 6 (8. Read More

J Cell Physiol 2019 Apr 5. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

This study aims to determine the feasibility of using oligodeoxynucleotides with unmethylated cytosine-guanine dinucleotide sequences (CpG ODN) as an immunity protection strategy for a mouse model of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This is a prospective laboratory animal investigation. Twenty-week-old BALB/c mice in Animal research laboratory were randomized into groups. Read More

Int Immunopharmacol 2019 Apr 2;71:392-403. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese PLA General Hospital & Postgraduate Medical School, 100039 Beijing, China. Electronic address:

Excessive inflammation induced by cytokine storm and coagulation disorders is considered the primary characteristic of smoke inhalation-induced acute lung injury (SI-ALI). Glucocorticoids such as methylprednisolone (MP) are commonly used to treat patients with inflammatory diseases; however, the management of ALI or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains controversial. We explored the effects of different MP doses and durations in a rat SI-ALI model. Read More

Biochem Cell Biol 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Furman University, 3628, Chemistry and Biology , 3300 Poinsett Highway , Greenville, South Carolina, United States , 29613-0002 ;

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus nonstructural protein 1 (nsp1) is a key factor in virus-induced down-regulation of host gene expression. In infected cells, nsp1 engages in a multi-pronged mechanism to inhibit host gene expression by binding to the 40S ribosome to block the assembly of translationally competent ribosome, and then inducing endonucleolytic cleavage and the degradation of host mRNAs. Here, we report a previously undetected mechanism by which nsp1 exploits the nuclear pore complex and disrupts nuclear-cytoplasmic transport of biomolecules. Read More

PLoS One 2019 3;14(4):e0202456. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

Many lung diseases, such as the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), display significant regional heterogeneity with patches of severely injured tissue adjacent to apparently healthy tissue. Current mouse models that aim to mimic ARDS generally produce diffuse injuries that cannot reproducibly generate ARDS's regional heterogeneity. This deficiency prevents the evaluation of how well therapeutic agents reach the most injured regions and precludes many regenerative medicine studies since it is not possible to know which apparently healing regions suffered severe injury initially. Read More

Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Cardiothoracic Surgery, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment is generally offered in large tertiary cardiothoracic referral centres. Here we present the indications and outcome of venovenous-ECMO (VV-ECMO) treatment in a low-volume, geographically isolated single-centre in Iceland, a country of 350 000 inhabitants. Our hypothesis was that patient survival in such a centre can be similar to that at high-volume centres. Read More

J Extra Corpor Technol 2019 Mar;51(1):26-28

Cleveland Clinic, Heart and Vascular Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.

Heparin has been used for decades as an anticoagulant in patients on mechanical circulatory support, which includes extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and ventricular assist devices. Bivalirudin is a direct thrombin inhibitor that can be used as an alternative anticoagulant in neonates and infants demonstrating inaccurate heparin monitoring. We report a case of a 2-month-old male child who was placed on ECMO for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2019 13;6(2):001003. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Wexford General Hospital, Wexford, Ireland.

Introduction: Mycoplasma pneumonia is one of the most common types of pneumonia, although it is often not diagnosed due to mild clinical course.

Aims: In this case study we aim to describe the importance of considering mycoplasma pneumonia in high-risk groups.

Methods: We present the case of a 27-year-old woman admitted with pneumonia, progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute kidney injury. Read More

Oncol Lett 2019 Apr 21;17(4):3997-4003. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital do Câncer/UOPECCAN, Cascavel, Paraná 85806-300, Brazil.

Among onco-hematological patients with acute respiratory failure (ARpF), surgical lung biopsy (SLB) could contribute to the medical management, by guiding initiation, maintenance or discontinuation of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the results of SLB in these patients in an oncological center from a medium-income country, as well as analyze if this procedure is clinically useful in this context, and its impact on complications and mortality. This observational retrospective study analyzed onco-hematological patients with ARpF in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a cancer center in southern Brazil between 2010-2016, who required mechanical ventilation and were submitted to open SLB. Read More

Clin Ther 2019 Mar 28. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Purpose: First-line management of severe asthma exacerbations include the use of inhaled short-acting β-agonists, anticholinergics, and systemic corticosteroids. Continuous intravenous ketamine given at dissociative doses may be a pharmacologic option in patients who are intubated with life-threatening severe bronchospasm unresponsive to standard therapy. We describe the case of a 44-year-old man admitted to the intensive care unit for status asthmaticus requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. Read More

Int J Low Extrem Wounds 2019 Apr 1:1534734619836464. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

1 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.

Lower extremity necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a severe infection requiring immediate surgery. The aim of this study was to assess patient factors predictive of amputation and mortality in diabetes mellitus (DM) and non-DM patients with lower extremity NF. The American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database was reviewed retrospectively. Read More

PLoS Comput Biol 2019 03 29;15(3):e1006930. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, United Kingdom.

There exists significant interest in developing statistical and computational tools for inferring 'who infected whom' in an infectious disease outbreak from densely sampled case data, with most recent studies focusing on the analysis of whole genome sequence data. However, genomic data can be poorly informative of transmission events if mutations accumulate too slowly to resolve individual transmission pairs or if there exist multiple pathogens lineages within-host, and there has been little focus on incorporating other types of outbreak data. We present here a methodology that uses contact data for the inference of transmission trees in a statistically rigorous manner, alongside genomic data and temporal data. Read More

World J Emerg Surg 2019;14:13. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

1Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria.

Background: According to recently published findings, levels of the soluble receptor of advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) and its clearance from the blood may reflect the evolution of lung damage during hospitalization. Thus, the objective of this study was to reveal the course of sRAGE levels over the first three posttraumatic weeks, focusing on the severity of thoracic trauma and the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and/or pneumonia.

Methods: Twenty-eight consecutive surviving polytraumatized patients suffering thoracic trauma, age ≥ 18 years, Injury Severity Score ≥ 16, and directly admitted to our level I trauma center were enrolled in this prospective study. Read More

Int J Artif Organs 2019 May 28;42(5):263-268. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

1 II Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.

Hyperbilirubinemia occurs in up to 40% of critically ill. In ICU, hyperbilirubinemia is an independent factor that influences patients' morbidity and mortality. Jaundice can reflect the course of disease or be caused by treatment (e. Read More

J Virol 2019 Mar 27. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

NHC Key Laboratory of Biosafety, Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing 102206, China

Coronaviruses (CoVs) act as cross-species viruses and have the potential to spread rapidly into new host species and cause epidemic diseases. Despite the severe public health threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV), there are currently no drugs available for their treatment; therefore, broad-spectrum inhibitors of emerging and endemic CoVs are urgently needed. To search for effective inhibitory agents, we performed high-throughput screening (HTS) of a 2,000-compound library of approved drugs and pharmacologically active compounds using the established genetically engineered human CoV OC43 (HCoV-OC43) strain expressing luciferase (rOC43-ns2Del-Rluc) and validated the inhibitors using multiple genetically distinct CoVs We screened 56 hits from the HTS data and validated 36 compounds using wild-type HCoV-OC43. Read More

Intensive Care Med Exp 2019 Mar 25;7(1):18. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Critical Care Research Group, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, 4035 QLD, Australia.

Objectives: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an increasingly accepted means of supporting those with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Given the high mortality associated with ARDS, numerous animal models have been developed to support translational research. Where ARDS is combined with ECMO, models are less well characterized. Read More

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, United States.

H1N1 influenza virus infection induces dramatic and permanent alveolar remodeling mediated by p63+ progenitor cell expansion in both mice and some patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. This persistent lung epithelial dysplasia is accompanied by chronic inflammation, but the driver(s) of this pathology are unknown. This work identified de novo appearance of solitary chemosensory cells (SCCs), as defined by the tuft cell marker DCLK1, in post-influenza lungs arising in close proximity with the dysplastic epithelium, whereas uninjured lungs are devoid of SCCs. Read More

Front Med (Lausanne) 2019 8;6:38. Epub 2019 Mar 8.

Department of Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.

Clopidogrel is a commonly prescribed antiplatelet drug in patients with stents and histories of arterial vascular disease. It generally has a favorable side effect profile with increasing bleeding risk as the main concern as an adverse event. A 19-year-old previously healthy male presented to the neurological intensive care unit with a subarachnoid hemorrhage requiring a flow diverting stent to secure the aneurysm. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2019 Feb;11(Suppl 2):S141-S151

Department of Operational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pécs, Medical School University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.

Lung contusion resulting from chest trauma may be present various clinical pictures. It quite often remains unrecognized and is only suspected later when severe complications have developed. Lung contusion may present in association with chest trauma but may also occur alone. Read More

Trauma Surg Acute Care Open 2019 6;4(1):e000209. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

Background: The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as salvage therapy for patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome is gaining greater acceptance among trauma intensivists. The objective of this study was to review ECMO usage in trauma patients in the USA.

Methods: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from years 2002 to 2012 was queried for patients aged 15 and older treated with ECMO who had one or more acute traumatic injuries as defined by the International Diagnostic Codes, Ninth Edition (ICD-9). Read More

J Burn Care Res 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Department of Respiratory Therapy, Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Smoke inhalation injury is a major morbidity and cause of mortality in patients with burns. Damage caused by inhalation of thermal or chemical irritants, including toxic fumes and chemicals, leads to respiratory cilia and epithelial cell injuries, which turn to severe bronchospasm and alveolar damage and results in acute respiratory distress syndrome. Respiratory management plays a vital role in the treatment of smoke inhalation injury. Read More

Animal Model Exp Med 2018 Jun 28;1(2):125-133. Epub 2018 Jul 28.

Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) & Comparative Medicine Center Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine Ministry of Health Key Laboratory for Animal Models of Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Beijing China.

In humans, infection with the coronavirus, especially the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the emerging Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), induces acute respiratory failure, resulting in high mortality. Irregular coronavirus related epidemics indicate that the evolutionary origins of these two pathogens need to be identified urgently and there are still questions related to suitable laboratory animal models. Thus, in this review we aim to highlight key discoveries concerning the animal origin of the virus and summarize and compare current animal models. Read More

Influenza Other Respir Viruses 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Intensive Care Department, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, College of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has been used in patients with the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, but the effectiveness of this approach has not been studied.

Methods: Patients with MERS from 14 Saudi Arabian centers were included in this analysis. Patients who were initially managed with NIV were compared to patients who were managed only with invasive mechanical ventilation (invasive MV). Read More

A A Pract 2019 Mar 14. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a rescue treatment for respiratory or cardiac failure. Its use is limited in patients predisposed to bleeding due to heparin administration. We present 2 patients with deranged coagulation after liver rupture successfully treated by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Read More

J Vis Exp 2019 Mar 1(145). Epub 2019 Mar 1.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University;

The protocol aims to generate coronavirus (CoV) spike (S) fusion protein pseudotyped particles with a murine leukemia virus (MLV) core and luciferase reporter, using a simple transfection procedure of the widely available HEK-293T cell line. Once formed and released from producer cells, these pseudovirions incorporate a luciferase reporter gene. Since they only contain the heterologous coronavirus spike protein on their surface, the particles behave like their native coronavirus counterparts for entry steps. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Mar;98(11):e14830

Department of Neonate, Yancheng Third People's Hospital, Yancheng, China.

This study aims to explore the dynamic changes of pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) and its clinical significance in prenatal neonates with pulmonary and extra-pulmonary acute lung injury/respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS).A prospective study was conducted in the Neonate Intensive Care Unit (NICU) between May 2015 and April 2017. A total of 78 prenatal neonates with ALI/ARDS were selected and divided into 2 groups: pulmonary group (n = 37) and extra-pulmonary group (n = 41). Read More

Exp Anim 2019 Mar 15. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University.

Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites and is one of the most life-threatening infectious diseases in humans. Infection can result in severe complications such as cerebral malaria, acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome, and acute renal injury. These complications are mainly caused by P. Read More

Transplant Proc 2019 Mar 3;51(2):556-560. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

Department of Transplantation & General Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. Electronic address:

Mucormycosis is an uncommonly encountered fungal infection in solid-organ transplantation, occurring most often gastrointestinally. The most common and fatal infectious disease is cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia, which may result in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with rapid onset. Early diagnosis, active treatment, and rational reduction of immunosuppressants are crucial for successful kidney transplantation. Read More