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Background The fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) test is useful in asthma patients. However, a few studies on its usefulness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients have been reported. We analyzed the FENO level distribution and clinical characteristics according to the FENO level in COPD patients. Methods From December 2014 to June 2019, COPD patients who underwent pulmonary function and FENO tests at Chonnam National University Hospital were retrospectively evaluated for FENO, comorbidities, asthma history, blood eosinophil, and pulmonary function test. The high FENO group was defined as those with FENO level>25 parts per billion (ppb). Results A total of 849 COPD patients (mean age, 70.3±9.4 years) were included. The mean forced expiratory volume at 1 second was 66.5±21.7% and the mean FENO level was 24.3±20.5 ppb. Patients with FENO ≤25 ppb were 572 (67.4%) and those with FENO >25 ppb were 277 (32.6%). Blood eosinophil percentage was significantly higher (4.2±4.8 vs. 2.7±2.5, p3% (46.9% vs. 34.8%, p=0.001) and asthma history (25.6% vs. 8.6%, p3%, and positive bronchodilator response (BDR) were independent risk factors for the high FENO level (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.85; p

Background: For patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV), weaning is difficult and mortality is very high. PMV has been defined recently, by consensus, as constituting ≥21 consecutive days of mechanical ventilation (MV) for ≥6 hours per day. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical factors predicting weaning failure in patients undergoing PMV in medical intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and laboratory characteristics of 127 patients who received MV for more than 21 days in the medical ICU at Chonnam National University Hospital in South Korea between January 2005 and December 2014. Patients who underwent surgery or experienced trauma were excluded from this study. Results: Among the 127 patients requiring PMV, 41 (32.3%) were successfully weaned from MV. The median age of the weaning failure group was higher than that of the weaning success group (74.0 vs . 70.0 years; P=0.003). The proportion of male patients was 58.5% in the weaning success group and 72.1% in the weaning failure group, respectively. The most common reasons for ICU admission were respiratory causes (66.1%) followed by cardiovascular causes (16.5%) in both groups. ICU mortality and in-hospital mortality rates were 55.1% and 55.9%, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, respiratory causes of ICU admission [odds ratio (OR), 3.98; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29–12.30; P=0.016] and a high sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score on day 21 of MV (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.17–1.85; P=0.001) were significantly associated with weaning failure in patients requiring PMV. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the SOFA score on day 21 of MV for predicting weaning failure was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.67–0.87; P=0.000). Conclusions: Respiratory causes of ICU admission and a high SOFA score on day 21 of MV could be predictive of weaning failure in patients requiring PMV.

Chlorine-containing bleach can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and chemical burns. However, simultaneous occurrence of the two conditions caused by this agent is very rare. We describe the case of a 74-year-old female who presented with shortness of breath and hemoptysis following accidental exposure to chlorine-containing bleach. She had second- to third-degree chemical burns on both buttocks and thighs, and received mechanical ventilation because of the development of ARDS. Mechanical ventilation was discontinued on day 6 of hospitalization because of the rapid improvement of hypoxemia, and the patient was transferred to another hospital for further management of the chemical burns on day 18.

Pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (PEH) is a rare vascular tumor of borderline malignancy that originates from endothelial cells. Chest computed tomography (CT) performed during a routine cancer screening revealed multiple small pulmonary nodules in a 50-year-old man who had previously undergone endoscopic submucosal dissection of early gastric cancer. To rule out metastatic nodules, a wedge resection of the left upper lobe was performed and the frozen biopsy reported a benign fibrotic nodule. Using immunohistochemistry, the final pathology was indicated to be PEH, and consecutive surgery for the right-side nodules was planned and performed.