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Introduction: The traditional Japanese herbal medicine hochuekkito (TJ-41) has been reported to ameliorate systemic inflammation and malnutrition in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). TJ-41 has also been known to have preventive effects against influenza virus infection. However, its role in the acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) remains to be elucidated. Our previous study established a murine model of viral infection-associated AECOPD that was induced by intratracheal administration of porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)]. Here, we used this model and investigated the effects of TJ-41 in AECOPD. Methods: Specific pathogen-free C57BL/6J mice were used. A COPD model was induced by treating mice intratracheally with PPE on day 0. To generate the murine model of AECOPD, poly(I:C) was administered intratracheally following PPE treatment on days 22–24. Mice were sacrificed and analyzed on day 25. Mice were fed a diet containing 2% TJ-41 or a control diet. Results: Daily oral intake of TJ-41 significantly decreased the numbers of neutrophils and lymphocytes in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), which was accompanied by decreased transcripts of CXC chemokines involved in neutrophil migration, viz., Cxcl1 and Cxcl2, in whole lung homogenates and reduced Cxcl2 concentration in BALF. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the anti-inflammatory effects of TJ-41 in a mouse model of AECOPD, suggesting the effectiveness of TJ-41 for the management of COPD. Clinical investigations evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of TJ-41 in AECOPD would be meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mouse model of asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap induced by intratracheal papain Keywords: animal models; asthma; COPD EN animal models asthma COPD 390 394 5 01/09/21 20210101 NES 210101 Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) is recognized as a distinct clinical disorder that can be differentiated from asthma or COPD alone, owing to the rapid disease progression, frequent exacerbations and increased comorbidities.1 A major impediment to the elucidation of mechanisms underlying ACO pathogenesis has been the lack of development and detailed evaluation of appropriate animal models. Both PPE- and papain-treated groups showed increased inspiratory capacity/weight and dynamic compliance (Figure 1B); representative lung histology revealed PPE- and papain-induced emphysema (Figure 1C). [Extracted from the article]

Background: Obstructive lung disease (OLD) is a risk factor for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) and is incidentally discovered during preoperative evaluation. The key treatments for OLD are inhaled long‐acting bronchodilators (LAB). However, the advantage of preoperative bronchodilator treatment for patients with OLD remains unclear. The aim of this study is to elucidate the effect of preoperative LAB treatment in patients with untreated OLD on postoperative outcomes. Methods: In this propensity‐matched cohort study, we included patients who were referred to the pulmonologists for untreated OLD. The patients were either treated with LAB or left untreated. The primary outcome was the incidence of prolonged oxygen therapy (>3 days) in the postoperative period. We evaluated patients' characteristics with and without the use of LAB using propensity score (PS) matching weight. Subsequently, the outcomes in the two groups were compared. Results: We analysed 614 patients; 132 patients were part of the LAB group and 482 were included in the control group. In the crude analysis, the incidence of prolonged oxygen therapy was higher in the LAB group than in the control group (odds ratio [OR] = 1.35; P = 0.04). However, after PS matching weight, no statistically significant differences in prolonged oxygen therapy (OR = 1.15), incidence of prolonged intensive care unit stay, endotracheal re‐intubation postoperatively and in‐hospital death between the groups were identified. Conclusion: There is a limited benefit of preoperative treatment with inhaled LAB for the reduction of PPC in patients with untreated OLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Patients with haematological malignancies usually have a plethora of respiratory complications. Bronchoscopy is one of the most important procedures used to diagnose respiratory complications. Despite enormous benefit, patients should be carefully selected for bronchoscopy as the process is invasive; however, there are only few reports evaluating the contributing factors of bronchoscopy that result in the definitive diagnosis of respiratory complications in these patients. Objective: This study aimed to elucidate and identify the contributing factors of bronchoscopy for definitive diagnosis in patients with haematological malignancies. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 275 patients with haematological malignancies who later showed respiratory complications, requiring consultation with pulmonologists. We found that 62 patients underwent bronchoscopy. Our data analysis focused on this particular subset of patients to identify the factors crucial for definitive diagnosis via bronchoscopy. Results: Bronchoscopy provided definitive diagnosis for 25 patients (diagnostic yield = 40.3%). We determined that nodular shadow was associated with high diagnostic yields by multivariate logistic regression [odds ratio (OR): 6.6 (2.1‐23)]. Furthermore, in several bronchoscopic procedures, biopsy also contributed to definitive diagnosis of patients with nodular shadow [OR: 17 (1.5‐180)]. Life‐threatening complications were not observed due to bronchoscopy in our study. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that patients with haematological malignancies who showed lung nodular shadows are more likely to be definitively diagnosed by bronchoscopy, whereas transbronchial biopsy may also be beneficial for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]