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BackgroundTelehealth is a recommended method for monitoring the progression of nonsevere infections in patients with COVID-19. However, telehealth has not been widely implemented to monitor SARS-CoV-2 infection in quarantined individuals. Moreover, studies on the cost-effectiveness of quarantine measures during the COVID-19 pandemic are scarce. ObjectiveIn this cohort study, we aimed to use telehealth to monitor COVID-19 infections in 217 quarantined Taiwanese travelers and to analyze the cost-effectiveness of the quarantine program. MethodsTravelers were quarantined for 14 days at the Taiwan Yangmingshan quarantine center and monitored until they were discharged. The travelers’ clinical symptoms were evaluated twice daily. A multidisciplinary medical team used the telehealth system to provide timely assistance for ill travelers. The cost of the mandatory quarantine was calculated according to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan. ResultsAll 217 quarantined travelers tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 upon admission to the quarantine center. During the quarantine, 28/217 travelers (12.9%) became ill and were evaluated via telehealth. Three travelers with fever were hospitalized after telehealth assessment, and subsequent tests for COVID-19 were negative for all three patients. The total cost incurred during the quarantine was US $193,938, which equated to US $894 per individual. ConclusionsTelehealth is an effective instrument for monitoring COVID-19 infection in quarantined travelers and could help provide timely disease management for people who are ill. It is imperative to screen and quarantine international travelers for SARS-CoV-2 infection to reduce the nationwide spread of COVID-19.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of fixed-dose combination (FDC) inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β2-agonists (ICS/LABA) in bronchiectasis. A retrospective cohort study analyzed electronic medical records of bronchiectasis patients initiating ICS/LABA FDC or LAMA between 2007 and 2021. All bronchiectasis diagnoses were made by radiologists using high-resolution computed tomography. Of the 1,736 patients, 1,281 took ICS/LABA FDC and 455 LAMA. Among the 694 propensity score matched patients, ICS/LABA FDC had comparable outcomes to LAMA, with HRs of 1.22 (95% CI 0.81–1.83) for hospitalized respiratory infection, 1.06 (95% CI 0.84–1.33) for acute exacerbation, and 1.06 (95% CI 0.66–1.02) for all-cause hospitalization. Beclomethasone/formoterol (BEC/FOR) or budesonide/formoterol (BUD/FOR) led to a lower risk of acute exacerbation compared to fluticasone/salmeterol (FLU/SAL) (BEC/FOR HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.43–0.81; BUD/FOR HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.50–0.93). BEC/FOR resulted in lower risks of hospitalized respiratory infection (HR 0.48, 95% 0.26–0.86) and all-cause hospitalization (HR 0.55, 95% 0.37–0.80) compared to FLU/SAL. Our findings provide important evidence on the effectiveness and safety of ICS/LABA FDC compared with LAMA for bronchiectasis. BEC/FOR and BUD/FOR were associated with better outcomes than FLU/SAL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a common and deadly disease throughout the world (1). In 2014, there were 9.6 million cases of TB worldwide, and 1.5 million persons died of this disease [...]

Purpose Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with eosinophilic airway inflammation may represent a unique phenotype, possibly with shared features of COPD and asthma. The role of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) in identifying COPD patients with sputum eosinophilia was examined in this study. Methods Ninety COPD patients without past medical history of asthma or allergic diseases were prospectively enrolled, and their eNO, lung function, and cellular profile of induced sputum were measured. Eosinophil cationic protein and IgE in sputum and venous blood also were determined. Subjects with and without sputum eosinophilia (>3 %) were compared. The role of eNO in the prediction of sputum eosinophilia was assessed in a logistic regression model. Results Patients with sputum eosinophilia had significantly higher levels of eNO (29 vs. 18 ppb, p = 0.01) than those without. The difference in serum total IgE (168 vs. 84.9 IU/ml, p = 0.057) and percentages of positive allergen test results (48.3 vs. 29.5 %, p = 0.082) showed a trend toward significance. The sputum eosinophil level was significantly correlated to the eNO level (r = 0.485, p 23.5 ppb) in the prediction of sputum eosinophilia were 3.909 (confidence interval (CI) 1.542-9.91, p = 0.004) and 4.329 (CI 1.306-14.356, p = 0.017), respectively. Conclusions eNO is a good marker to identify COPD patients with eosinophilic airway inflammation., Author(s): Kun-Ta Chou[sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] [sup.4] , Kang-Cheng Su[sup.1] [sup.5] , Shiang-Fen Huang[sup.1] , Yi-Han Hsiao[sup.1] , Ching-Min Tseng[sup.1] , Vincent Yi-Fong Su[sup.1] , Shih-Chieh Hung[sup.3] , Diahn-Warng Perng[sup.1] [sup.4] [...]

Background Expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-[β.sub.1] and increases in angiogenesis and deposition of extracellular matrix are the key features of tracheal granulation formation. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of thalidomide in preventing granulation tissue formation from the aspect of cellular effects in vitro, including fibroblast proliferation, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) release, and collagen production. Methods Human lung fibroblasts were obtained from bronchus and cultured. The effects of thalidomide on cell proliferation, migration, TGF-[β.sub.1]-induced VEGF, and signal pathway were investigated. Results Thalidomide (20 µM) not only inhibited cell proliferation after 24 h [fold increase of cell number, 0.85 ± 0.09 vs. 1.47 ± 0.14 (treatment vs. control group); P < 0.01] and 48 h of incubation (0.85 ± 0.10 vs. 1.97 ± 0.12; P < 0.001), it also inhibited cell migration and slowed wound closure at 24 h (P < 0.001). Thalidomide significantly attenuated TGF-[β.sub.1]-induced VEGF expression at both the mRNA and protein levels. Incubation of thalidomide with cells stimulated with TGF-[β.sub.1] significantly inhibited their production of collagen. Thalidomide inhibited Smad3, STAT3, and subsequent p44/42 kinase phosphorylation. Conclusion Thalidomide may inhibit human fibroblast proliferation and it is worthy of further in vivo investigation. Keywords Thalidomide * Lung fibroblasts * STAT3 * Smad3 * TGF-[β.sub.1], Introduction Prolonged tracheotomy and endotracheal intubation may cause airway obstruction due to occupation of the airway lumen by the growth of exuberant granulation tissue. Granulation tissue is one of the [...]