Tori Rodriguez, MA, LPC, AHC

Implementing pulmonary rehabilitation in patients’ homes may address several barriers, including need for referrals, accessibility to centers, and inability to travel because of chronic respiratory disease.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently updated their 2008 clinical report providing guidance on the prevention of atopic disease through maternal and early infant nutritional interventions.

Although mountaintop removal mining is less expensive and more efficient than conventional methods, opponents have criticized its adverse effects on both the environment and health.

Receiving appropriate antibiotic therapy in a timely manner is important, but clinicians must also consider potential antibiotic resistance in the hospital and surrounding community.

In obesity-related asthma, researchers have found that therapeutic options should be explored because weight loss has yet to be proven to reduce asthma.

Providers and patients may not recognize signs of mental health disorders because they often overlap with those of respiratory diseases.

A panel of 4 clinicians with experience in pediatric pulmonology discuss current research findings and gaps in studies of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, particularly regarding cardiovascular risk.

The gut microbiome has been implicated in a number of diseases, including atopy and asthma.

The optimal treatment approach for pulmonary arterial hypertension in pediatric patients depends upon the severity and underlying etiology of the disease.

The most recent CHEST guidelines on pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment support the integration of palliative care, noting significant improvements in outcomes observed in other pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer.

The “4 Moments of Antibiotic Decision Making” provides simple, structured guidelines on antibiotic prescribing, similar to previous models pertaining to hand hygiene, central line insertion, and other practices.

In a review of repurposing medications for pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment, dichloroacetate, metformin, and rosiglitazone/pioglitazone had the most preclinical data to support their use.

In Part 2 of this article, Erin D. Michos, MD, shares her thoughts on why dietary supplements are largely unnecessary.

Although it is estimated that more than 166 million Americans use dietary supplements, many healthcare providers are unfamiliar with how these substances are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration.

A shift toward personalized medicine in pneumonia management would involve refining the diagnostic categories to include viral pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, and noninfectious respiratory disease.

Digital interventions, such as web-based programs, mobile apps, and text messaging, have been found to improve asthma control and medication adherence while reducing the use of “rescue” medications.

Patients with malignant pleural effusion may care more about relieving symptoms such as dyspnea as opposed to achieving pleurodesis.

The GOLD scientific committee published a report on current controversies in COPD, including the role of cigarette smoking vs biomass exposure, the role of thoracic imaging, and different treatment strategies.

Healthcare providers should educate all patients with COPD about their flight-related risks and the need to seek medical advice before flying.

The concept of thirdhand smoke was originally introduced in 1953, when rodent studies first demonstrated the carcinogenic effects of the residue from tobacco smoke.

Electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve could be a viable treatment alternative to continuous positive airway pressure in obstructive sleep apnea.

Smoking cessation in patients with asthma is associated with reduced symptoms, improved lung function and quality of life, reduced use of rescue medications, improved airway hyperresponsiveness, and decreased hyperactivity.

Changing pollination patterns, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, air pollution, and extreme temperatures all negatively affect respiratory conditions.

Current research suggests patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension may benefit from iron and vitamin D supplementation.

Although emerging data offer valuable clues, the pathophysiological distinctions between different phenotypes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are still poorly understood.

Management strategies were discussed for subtypes of PAH-congenital heart disease including Eisenmenger syndrome, PAH with persistent systemic to pulmonary shunts, and PAH with small or coincidental defect or PAH after defect closure.

Poor control of asthma and obstructive sleep apnea can feed off one another, according to Michelle Zeidler, MD, pulmonologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and director of the UCLA Sleep Fellowship Program.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing can be an important diagnostic and prognostic tool in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The use of a risk calculator aimed at achieving a low-risk profile in PAH trials is discussed.

Recent research suggests that increasing obesity class is independently associated with worse respiratory-specific and general quality of life outcomes in COPD.