Current challenges in chronic bronchial infection in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Currently, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and their physicians face a number of significant clinical challenges, one of which is the high degree of uncertainty related to chronic bronchial infection (CBI). By reviewing the current literature, several challenges can be identified, which should be considered as goals for research. One of these is to establish the bases for identifying the biological and clinical implications of the presence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in the airways that should be more clearly elucidated according to the COPD phenotype. Another urgent area of research is the role of long-term preventive antibiotics. Clinical trials need to be carried out with inhaled antibiotic therapy to help clarify the profile of those antibiotics. The role of inhaled corticosteroids in patients with COPD and CBI needs to be studied to instruct the clinical management of these patients. Finally, it should be explored and confirmed whether a suitable antimicrobial treatment during exacerbations may contribute to breaking the vicious circle of CBI in COPD. The present review addresses the current state of the art in these areas to provide evidence which will enable us to progressively plan better healthcare for these patients

Staff training influence on non-invasive ventilation outcome for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure

Background. Although non-invasive ventilation (NIV) efficacy in the treatment of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) have been previously demonstrated, not all the studies reveal this fact in the same degree, with some variability in the results. This study aimed to analyse variables related to NIV outcome for AHRF. Methods. A group of consecutive patients requiring NIV due to AHRF were included in a prospective observational cohort study performed in conventional wards. Variables considered included those reported in the literature, as well as staff problems during the management of the ventilators. The study aimed to include all patients during one year, but after the initial results, it had to be suspended. Results. Fifteen patients were included in the study: 10 males, mean age 68 ± 12. APACHE-II score was 17.6 ± 6.5. pH and pCO2 before NIV were 7.22 ± 0.11 and 110 ± 72 mmHg respectively. pH, corticosteroids use, APACHE score, and EPAP were found to influence outcome. Besides, an inadequate use of NIV due to lack of personnel training was detected in all patients with NIV failure (RR 3.5; 95% CI: 1.08-11.2; p = 0.007). In the light of these results, the study had to be suspended and patients were transferred to the respiratory ward. Conclusions. NIV is a life-saving respiratory treatment influenced by several factors, of which staff training is a key one. Centres attending acute respiratory patients should have an area in which this requirement is fulfilled

25 años de creación del registro español de enfermedad de Gaucher. Definiendo el perfil del paciente con enfermedad de gaucher Tipo 1 (EG1) en el siglo 21

Poster [PC-344] Introducción: La enfermedad de Gaucher(EG), la mas frecuente entre las de deposito lisosomal (EDL), tiene distribución panétnica y una incidencia en población no Judía Ashkenazi de 1/70-140 mil habitantes. La deficiencia de la enzima lisosomal beta-glucosidasa ácida secundaria a variantes en el gen GBA de herencia autosómica recesiva da lugar a un cuadro clínico variable. Aparece a cualquier edad con síntomas que incluyen anemia, trombocitopenia, dolores y lesiones vasculares óseas, esplenomegalia, retraso en el crecimiento y astenia persistente, con importantes comorbilidades. Fue la primera EDL en disponer de terapia enzimática sustitutiva y terapia de reducción de sustrato. En 1993 se crea el Registro Español de Enfermedad de Gaucher (REsEG), en el seno de la Fundación Española para el Estudio y Terapéutica de la EG (FEETEG), con el objetivo de brindar soporte a todos los implicados en el manejo de pacientes con EG y unificar experiencia a nivel nacional. Este trabajo presenta un resumen de las características al diagnostico de los pacientes adultos con EG1 y las modificaciones producidas en las dos últimas décadas y los retos actuales. Material y Métodos: Se analizaron los pacientes con EG1 incluidos en el REsEG =18 años edad al diagnóstico, se detallan los datos demográficos, genéticos, clínicos (hematológicos, viscerales, óseos, neurológicos), índices de gravedad, biomarcadores, distribuidos en 2 grupos: A. diagnostico antes de 2005 y B pacientes diagnosticados con posterioridad. Resultados: Hasta Marzo 2018, un total de 240 adultos con EG1 han sido incluidos en el REsEG. (A: 184, B: 56; Edad media al diagnostico A: 39, 5 (18-87); B: 40, 1 (18-63) años, relación hombres/mujeres 50, 4%/49, 6%). Los síntomas que motivaron la consulta diagnóstica fueron: esplenomegalia 37, 83%, Trombocitopenia 41, 82%, hepatomegalia 8, 72%, dolor óseo: 16, 89%, fracturas patológica 3 casos, diátesis hemorrágica (equimosis, epistaxis): 12, 16%, sangrado periparto: 3 casos, estudio familiar: 9, 45%, estudio familiar por Parkinson precoz 3 casos, otros motivos de derivación fueron GMSI, hiperferritinemia. Genotipo: N370S/N370S: 17, 1%, N370S/L444P: 30.3%, N370S/L444P+otra alteración: 1, 3%, N370S/otras: 37, 26%, otras variantes: 14, 04%. Se realizó un análisis de los principales hallazgos al diagnóstico basándonos en si los pacientes se diagnosticaron antes o a partir del año 2005 evidenciando un perfil menos agresivo de los pacientes con menor incidencia de trombocitopenia severa, anemia, menor hepatomegalia y una clara reducción en la sintomatología ósea pasando de un 71% de incidencia de dolor óseo a solo un 51% (p=0, 15), sin embargo la astenia, esplenomegalia y la trombocitopenia (plaquetas <140.000/mL) siguen siendo los síntomas más presentes (p=0, 452). Durante este tiempo se han registrado 7 casos de E Parkinson, 2 pacientes con mutaciones de novo, 21 neoplasias y otros hallazgos interesantes que se expondrán en caso de aceptación. Conclusiones: El perfil de los EG1 ha cambiado y los hematólogos implicados en su diagnóstico de forma mayoritaria debemos estar preparados para ello; este trabajo busca una re-edición del perfil del paciente con EG1 en el siglo 21 basados en la experiencia acumulada de 25 años

Mortality prediction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease comparing the GOLD 2015 and GOLD 2019 staging: a pooled analysis of individual patient data

In 2019, The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) modified the grading system for patients with COPD, creating 16 subgroups (1A-4D). As part of the COPD Cohorts Collaborative International Assessment (3CIA) initiative, we aim to compare the mortality prediction of the 2015 and 2019 COPD GOLD staging systems. We studied 17 139 COPD patients from the 3CIA study, selecting those with complete data. Patients were classified by the 2015 and 2019 GOLD ABCD systems, and we compared the predictive ability for 5-year mortality of both classifications. In total, 17139 patients with COPD were enrolled in 22 cohorts from 11 countries between 2003 and 2017; 8823 of them had complete data and were analysed. Mean +/- SD age was 63.9 +/- 9.8 years and 62.9% were male. GOLD 2019 classified the patients in milder degrees of COPD. For both classifications, group D had higher mortality. 5-year mortality did not differ between groups B and C in GOLD 2015; in GOLD 2019, mortality was greater for group B than C. Patients classified as group A and B had better sensitivity and positive predictive value with the GOLD 2019 classification than GOLD 2015. GOLD 2015 had better sensitivity for group C and D than GOLD 2019. The area under the curve values for 5-year mortality were only 0.67 (95% CI 0.66-0.68) for GOLD 2015 and 0.65 (95% CI 0.63-0.66) for GOLD 2019. The new GOLD 2019 classification does not predict mortality better than the previous GOLD 2015 system

Sex differences between women and men with COPD: A new analysis of the 3CIA study

Background: There is partial evidence that COPD is expressed differently in women than in men, namely on symptoms, pulmonary function, exacerbations, comorbidities or prognosis. There is a need to improve the characterization of COPD in females. Methods: We obtained and pooled data of 17 139 patients from 22 COPD cohorts and analysed the clinical differences by sex, establishing the relationship between these characteristics in women and the prognosis and severity of the disease. Comparisons were established with standard statistics and survival analysis, including crude and multivariate Cox-regression analysis. Results: Overall, 5355 (31.2%) women were compared with men with COPD. Women were younger, had lower pack-years, greater FEV1%, lower BMI and a greater number of exacerbations (all p &lt; 0.05). On symptoms, women reported more dyspnea, equal cough but less expectoration (p &lt; 0.001). There were no differences in the BODE index score in women (2.4) versus men (2.4) (p = 0.5), but the distribution of all BODE components was highly variable by sex within different thresholds of BODE. On prognosis, 5-year survival was higher in COPD females (86.9%) than in males (76.3%), p &lt; 0.001, in all patients and within each of the specific comorbidities that we assessed. The crude and adjusted RR and 95% C.I. for death in males was 1.82 (1.69–1.96) and 1.73 (1.50–2.00), respectively. Conclusions: COPD in women has some characteristic traits expressed differently than compared to men, mainly with more dyspnea and COPD exacerbations and less phlegm, among others, although long-term survival appears better in female COPD patients

What pulmonologists think about the asthma–COPD overlap syndrome

Background: Some patients with COPD may share characteristics of asthma; this is the so-called asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). There are no universally accepted criteria for ACOS, and most treatments for asthma and COPD have not been adequately tested in this population. Materials and methods: We performed a survey among pulmonology specialists in asthma and COPD aimed at collecting their opinions about ACOS and their attitudes in regard to some case scenarios of ACOS patients. The participants answered a structured questionnaire and attended a face-to-face meeting with the Metaplan methodology to discuss different aspects of ACOS. Results: A total of 26 pulmonologists with a mean age of 49.7 years participated in the survey (13 specialists in asthma and 13 in COPD). Among these, 84.6% recognized the existence of ACOS and stated that a mean of 12.6% of their patients might have this syndrome. In addition, 80.8% agreed that the diagnostic criteria for ACOS are not yet well defined. The most frequently mentioned characteristics of ACOS were a history of asthma (88.5%), significant smoking exposure (73.1%), and postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ,0.7 (69.2%). The most accepted diagnostic criteria were eosinophilia in sputum (80.8%), a very positive bronchodilator test (69.2%), and a history of asthma before 40 years of age (65.4%). Up to 96.2% agreed that first-line treatment for ACOS was the combination of a long-acting β2-agonist and inhaled steroid, with a long-acting antimuscarinic agent (triple therapy) for severe ACOS. Conclusion: Most Spanish specialists in asthma and COPD agree that ACOS exists, but the diagnostic criteria are not yet well defined. A previous history of asthma, smoking, and not fully reversible airflow limitation are considered the main characteristics of ACOS, with the most accepted first-line treatment being long-acting β2-agonist/inhaled corticosteroids

Mortality prediction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease comparing the GOLD 2015 and GOLD 2019 staging: a pooled analysis of individual patient data

In 2019, The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) modified the grading system for patients with COPD, creating 16 subgroups (1A–4D). As part of the COPD Cohorts Collaborative International Assessment (3CIA) initiative, we aim to compare the mortality prediction of the 2015 and 2019 COPD GOLD staging systems. We studied 17 139 COPD patients from the 3CIA study, selecting those with complete data. Patients were classified by the 2015 and 2019 GOLD ABCD systems, and we compared the predictive ability for 5-year mortality of both classifications. In total, 17 139 patients with COPD were enrolled in 22 cohorts from 11 countries between 2003 and 2017; 8823 of them had complete data and were analysed. Mean±sd age was 63.9±9.8 years and 62.9% were male. GOLD 2019 classified the patients in milder degrees of COPD. For both classifications, group D had higher mortality. 5-year mortality did not differ between groups B and C in GOLD 2015; in GOLD 2019, mortality was greater for group B than C. Patients classified as group A and B had better sensitivity and positive predictive value with the GOLD 2019 classification than GOLD 2015. GOLD 2015 had better sensitivity for group C and D than GOLD 2019. The area under the curve values for 5-year mortality were only 0.67 (95% CI 0.66–0.68) for GOLD 2015 and 0.65 (95% CI 0.63–0.66) for GOLD 2019

Bladder cancer index: cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish and psychometric evaluation

BACKGROUND: The Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) is so far the only instrument applicable across all bladder cancer patients, independent of tumor infiltration or treatment applied. We developed a Spanish version of the BCI, and assessed its acceptability and metric properties. METHODS: For the adaptation into Spanish we used the forward and back-translation method, expert panels, and cognitive debriefing patient interviews. For the assessment of metric properties we used data from 197 bladder cancer patients from a multi-center prospective study. The Spanish BCI and the SF-36 Health Survey were self-administered before and 12 months after treatment. Reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was assessed through the multi-trait multi-method matrix. The magnitude of change was quantified by effect sizes to assess responsiveness. RESULTS: Reliability coefficients ranged 0.75-0.97. The validity analysis confirmed moderate associations between the BCI function and bother subscales for urinary (r = 0.61) and bowel (r = 0.53) domains; conceptual independence among all BCI domains (r ≤ 0.3); and low correlation coefficients with the SF-36 scores, ranging 0.14-0.48. Among patients reporting global improvement at follow-up, pre-post treatment changes were statistically significant for the urinary domain and urinary bother subscale, with effect sizes of 0.38 and 0.53. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish BCI is well accepted, reliable, valid, responsive, and similar in performance compared to the original instrument. These findings support its use, both in Spanish and international studies, as a valuable and comprehensive tool for assessing quality of life across a wide range of bladder cancer patients

The Global Burden of Cancer 2013

IMPORTANCE: Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. Current estimates of cancer burden in individual countries and regions are necessary to inform local cancer control strategies. OBJECTIVE: To estimate mortality, incidence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 28 cancers in 188 countries by sex from 1990 to 2013. EVIDENCE REVIEW: The general methodology of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 study was used. Cancer registries were the source for cancer incidence data as well as mortality incidence (MI) ratios. Sources for cause of death data include vital registration system data, verbal autopsy studies, and other sources. The MI ratios were used to transform incidence data to mortality estimates and cause of death estimates to incidence estimates. Cancer prevalence was estimated using MI ratios as surrogates for survival data; YLDs were calculated by multiplying prevalence estimates with disability weights, which were derived from population-based surveys; YLLs were computed by multiplying the number of estimated cancer deaths at each age with a reference life expectancy; and DALYs were calculated as the sum of YLDs and YLLs. FINDINGS: In 2013 there were 14.9 million incident cancer cases, 8.2 million deaths, and 196.3 million DALYs. Prostate cancer was the leading cause for cancer incidence (1.4 million) for men and breast cancer for women (1.8 million). Tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer was the leading cause for cancer death in men and women, with 1.6 million deaths. For men, TBL cancer was the leading cause of DALYs (24.9 million). For women, breast cancer was the leading cause of DALYs (13.1 million). Age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) per 100 000 and age-standardized death rates (ASDRs) per 100 000 for both sexes in 2013 were higher in developing vs developed countries for stomach cancer (ASIR, 17 vs 14; ASDR, 15 vs 11), liver cancer (ASIR, 15 vs 7; ASDR, 16 vs 7), esophageal cancer (ASIR, 9 vs 4; ASDR, 9 vs 4), cervical cancer (ASIR, 8 vs 5; ASDR, 4 vs 2), lip and oral cavity cancer (ASIR, 7 vs 6; ASDR, 2 vs 2), and nasopharyngeal cancer (ASIR, 1.5 vs 0.4; ASDR, 1.2 vs 0.3). Between 1990 and 2013, ASIRs for all cancers combined (except nonmelanoma skin cancer and Kaposi sarcoma) increased by more than 10 in 113 countries and decreased by more than 10 in 12 of 188 countries. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Cancer poses a major threat to public health worldwide, and incidence rates have increased in most countries since 1990. The trend is a particular threat to developing nations with health systems that are ill-equipped to deal with complex and expensive cancer treatments. The annual update on the Global Burden of Cancer will provide all stakeholders with timely estimates to guide policy efforts in cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and palliation. Copyright 2015 American Medical Association. All rights reserved