Top news of July: Updates on COVID-19, lung cancer screening guidelines and more

The Healio Editors have compiled a list of the most-read news in pulmonology posted in July.

Highlights from the last month include a study that reported genetic risk and preexisting COPD are risk factors for severe COVID-19; the link between hormone therapy and asthma development in women; new guidelines on low-dose CT screening for lung cancer; therapies for severe ILD and high-risk PAH; FDA approval of an immunosuppressive drug for lung transplant recipients; and more.

Read these articles, and others, below, in no particular order.

COVID-19 crisis in India: We can’t be silent spectators

Abhishek Bhardwaj, MD, FACP, Sumita B. Khatri, MD, MS, FCCP, and Atul C. Mehta, MD, FACP, FCCP, penned a Commentary about the COVID-19 pandemic in India. “This is a race against time,” the authors wrote. Read more

CHEST issues new guideline on benefits, harms, use of low-dose CT screening for lung cancer

The American College of Chest Physicians released a new guideline and expert panel report that contains recommendations and updates the evidence base for the benefits, harms and implementation of low-dose CT screening for lung cancer. Read more

Genetic risk, preexisting COPD may predict risk for severe COVID-19

High genetic risk and preexisting COPD are both independently associated with increased risk for severe COVID-19, according to data published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Read more

Hormone therapy may play role in development of asthma in women

Hormone therapy with exogenous estrogen, with and without progesterone, may increase the risk for asthma in women. Read more

Ventilatory response to exercise lowered among patients with obesity

As a patient’s magnitude of obesity increased, the ventilatory response to exercise decreased, researchers reported in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Read more

Pulmonary impairment ‘highly prevalent’ in severe COVID-19 survivors following discharge

Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 who required an ICU stay had pulmonary structural abnormalities and lung function impairment at 3 months after discharge. Read more

Nasal high-flow oxygen therapy yields benefit in severe ILD

Patients with severe interstitial lung disease who received heated and humidified nasal high-flow oxygen therapy had significant improvements in endurance, physiologic parameters and sensations during exercise. Read more

Initial triple therapy associated with improved long-term survival in high-risk PAH

Initial triple combination therapy was associated with better survival among high-risk patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension at diagnosis, especially among younger high-risk patients. Read more

FDA approves Prograf to prevent organ rejection in lung transplant recipients

The FDA has approved the immunosuppressant drug tacrolimus to prevent rejection in adult and pediatric patients who receive lung transplants, according to a press release. Read more

Mayo Clinic ranked No. 1 hospital in US for pulmonology, lung surgery

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, was named the No. 1 hospital in the United States for pulmonology and lung surgery in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021-2022 Best Hospitals rankings and ratings. Read more