Introduction This study aimed to construct artificial intelligence models based on thoracic CT images to perform segmentation and classification of benign pleural effusion (BPE) and malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Methods A total of 918 patients with pleural effusion were initially included, with 607 randomly selected cases used as the training cohort and the other 311 as the internal testing…

Rationale In patients with COPD, oxygen (O2)-supplementation via a constant flow oxygen system (CFOS) can result in insufficient oxygen saturation (SpO2 <90%) during exercise. An automatically titrating O2-system (ATOS) has been shown to be beneficial compared with an untitrated CFOS, however, it is unknown if ATOS is superior to CFOS, titrated during exercise as stipulated by guidelines. The aim...

Rationale Severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) share common pathophysiological traits such as relative corticosteroid insensitivity. We recently published three transcriptome-associated clusters (TACs) using hierarchical analysis of the sputum transcriptome in asthmatics from the Unbiased Biomarkers for the Prediction of Respiratory Disease Outcomes (U-BIOPRED) cohort…

Malignant pleural effusion is a common complication of advanced malignancy. It affects 15% of oncology patients, and lung cancer and breast cancer are the most common causes.1 Identifying of the condition is essential because its presence has implications in the staging, management and prognosis of a patient with established malignancy, and it can serve as the source of initial diagnostic…

Mast cells provide innate immune defence against microbes through the secretion of various mediators including proteases, with mucosal-like and connective tissue-like mast cells being tryptase+chymase- (MCT) and tryptase+chymase+ (MCTC), respectively. Mast cells are found in high numbers in the lungs, with MCT being predominant in the airways.1 2 Mast cells also participate in adaptive immune…

High-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) is widely used in intensive care units (ICUs) and now being considered as a first-line oxygenation strategy for management of patients with acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure.1 Benefits of HFNO can be explained by its physiological effects including high FiO2 delivery, low levels of positive pressure in the upper airways and ventilatory support due to dead-space…

Pathogenic variants in the ATP binding cassette member A3 (ABCA3) gene were first described in newborn infants with lethal respiratory failure in 2004.1 Subsequent reports have expanded the clinical spectrum associated with biallelic ABCA3 variants to include infants with the phenotype of childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD), who presented after the newborn period and had prolonged…

In moderate and severe asthma, the use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy (MART) reduces the risk of severe exacerbation by about one-third compared with the equivalent dose of ICS/long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA) maintenance plus short-acting beta2-agonist (SABA) reliever therapy.1 This efficacy has not only been demonstrated in populations with tightly…