Emphysema

WASHINGTON — Patients with severe emphysema had improved lung function at 5 years after receiving treatment with a support expiration valve system, according to research presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.

Former smokers with COPD who experienced exacerbations had larger lung density declines than those without exacerbations, according to a letter to the editor published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Individuals who smoked marijuana were more likely to have emphysema, airway changes and gynecomastia than tobacco-only smokers and nonsmokers, according to a study published in Radiology.

The Healio Editors compiled the most-read news in pulmonology posted in September.

Patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema treated with a support expiration valve system had a sustained clinically significant benefit in health-related quality of life at 24 months in the EMPROVE trial.

CT measurements may support patient satisfaction along the continuum of COPD phenotypes, and imaging phenotypes could explain a proportion of COPD heterogeneity, researchers reported in Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Emphysema is often present before spirometry findings become abnormal, with disproportionate rates seen in Black men, according to new findings published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The emphysema severity index may be a useful tool in clinical settings and treatment studies to better individualize treatments and prognosis, according to new results published in Respiratory Medicine Journal.

Both visual and quantitative CT assessments of emphysema were associated with greater odds of lung cancer, researchers reported in Radiology.

Incidental respiratory disease-related findings, including emphysema and reticular opacities, observed on low-dose CT lung cancer screenings were common and associated with increased mortality, researchers reported.