Background Despite the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations, there remains a need to investigate treatments to reduce the risk or severity of potentially fatal complications of COVID-19, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of the transient receptor potential channel C6 (TRPC6) inhibitor, BI 764198, in reducing the risk and/or severity…

The Global Burden of Disease Study has estimated that over 500 million subjects, around 7% of the global population, are affected by chronic respiratory diseases, with substantial individual and societal costs concerning morbidity, disability and mortality.1 Identifying and mitigating potentially modifiable risk factors are crucial in preventing the associated public health burden. Extensive…

Limited but encouraging outcomes have been reported with patient-specific stents, designed and manufactured based on the patient’s corrected anatomy.1–4 These personalised stents will probably benefit most if bifurcated and/or of complex shape with multiple angles, diameters and lengths to consider. From our (still limited) experience, anastomotic strictures following airway surgeries may…

A 17-year-old male patient presented with a 2-year history of intermittent self-resolving left or right pleuritic chest pain, radiating to the back and with variable duration from several minutes to days. He was a non-smoker and had no known medical or family history. Physical examination was remarkable for hypermobility of small joints (figure 1A) and translucent skin with visible veins (figure…

A 70-year-old female patient with known Parkinson’s disease and arterial hypertension presented with a progressive exertional dyspnoea over the last couple of months. She also suffered from night sweats and weight loss of 5 kg which the patient claimed to be intentional. Angina, syncope, cough, fever and haemoptysis were denied. Chest X-ray was performed and a right paratracheal mass was…

Background One hallmark of sepsis is the reduced number of lymphocytes, termed lymphopenia, that occurs from decreased lymphocyte proliferation or increased cell death contributing to immune suppression. Histone modification enzymes regulate immunity by their epigenetic and non-epigenetic functions; however, the role of these enzymes in lymphopenia remains elusive. Methods We used molecular…

Introduction The gender-age-physiology (GAP) index is an easy-to-use baseline mortality prediction model in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The GAP index does not incorporate exercise capacity parameters such as 6 min walk distance (6MWD) or exertional hypoxia. We evaluated if the addition of 6MWD and exertional hypoxia to the GAP index improves survival prediction in IPF. Methods Patients…