Highlights from ATS: Critical care, asthma, interstitial lung disease

Healio Pulmonology brings you the top news from the American Thoracic Society International Conference, held May 17 to 22 in Dallas.

See below for what readers were most interested in from this year’s conference.

ROSE: No mortality benefit with early neuromuscular blockade vs. usual care in ARDS

A strategy of early neuromuscular blockade with concomitant heavy sedation, compared with usual care, did not result in a significant mortality difference at 90 days in patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, according to data presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more

Four novel sepsis phenotypes identified

A new study has identified four clinical phenotypes of sepsis that may allow more precise therapy and improve care of critically ill patients, according to data presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference and published in JAMA. Read more

As-needed budesonide-formoterol bests albuterol for exacerbation prevention in mild asthma

Single combination inhaler treatment with budesonide-formoterol on an as-needed basis, compared with albuterol, more than halved the risk for severe asthma attacks in patients with mild asthma, according to the results of the Novel START trial presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more

Early sedation with dexmedetomidine fails to lower mortality vs. usual care: SPICE III

Critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in the ICU who received early sedation with dexmedetomidine as the primary or sole agent had a similar rate of mortality at 90 days compared with patients who received usual care, and were likely to require supplemental sedatives, researchers reported at the American Thoracic Society International Conference and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more

Mild asthma may not require daily inhaled corticosteroids

In the SIENA trial, nearly three-quarters of patients with mild, persistent asthma had low sputum eosinophil levels and did not differ in their response to either mometasone or tiotropium when compared with placebo treatment. Read more

Nintedanib slows loss of pulmonary function in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease

Patients with interstitial lung disease associated with systemic sclerosis treated with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nintedanib exhibited a 44% reduction in the rate of decline of lung function, as measured by forced vital capacity, at 52 weeks compared with placebo, according to data from the SENSCIS trial presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more