ECMO study provides clues to improving outcomes after critical illness
Only a third of patients are alive without moderate-to-severe disability at six months after initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), Australian research shows. The finding, from a Monash University-led registry study in 2019-2020, suggests the need for strategies such as rehabilitation during ECMO as well as ongoing support to help reduce...
Valve placement on par with surgery in emphysema: study
Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BVLR) is as effective as lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in patients with emphysema, with both techniques resulting in similar improvements in lung function, according to research published at ERS 2022. Findings of the study, which compared these procedures for the first time, will be...
Contrast dye shortage: Avoid CT scan requests 'wherever feasible', specialists urged
Specialists are being urged to minimise or modify CT imaging wherever possible due to a major shortage of dye used in the scans. With supplies of iodinated contrast media currently limited around the world, radiologists have recommended that alternative imaging modalities be used for indications including non-vascular chest imaging, oncology staging...
ECMO study provides clues to improving outcomes after critical illness
Only a third of patients are alive without moderate-to-severe disability at six months after initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), Australian research shows. The finding, from a Monash University-led registry study in 2019-2020, suggests the need for strategies such as rehabilitation...
Only a third of patients are alive without moderate-to-severe disability at six months after initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO),...
Valve placement on par with surgery in emphysema: study
Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BVLR) is as effective as lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in patients with emphysema, with both techniques resulting in similar improvements in lung function, according to research published at ERS 2022. Findings of the study,...
Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BVLR) is as effective as lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in patients with emphysema, with...
Contrast dye shortage: Avoid CT scan requests ‘wherever feasible’, specialists urged
Specialists are being urged to minimise or modify CT imaging wherever possible due to a major shortage of dye used in the scans. With supplies of iodinated contrast media currently limited around the world, radiologists have recommended that alternative imaging modalities...
Specialists are being urged to minimise or modify CT imaging wherever possible due to a major shortage of dye used...
EBUS safe in kids but bronchoscopists need to know more
Linear and radial endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) procedures are safe and feasible in children however to date only linear EBUS has demonstrated clinical utility, Australian bronchoscopists say. A retrospective study of 10 children from the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and...
Linear and radial endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) procedures are safe and feasible in children however to date only linear EBUS has...
Man with COPD catches fire during heart surgery
An Australian man's chest has caught fire during emergency heart surgery after a dry surgical pack ignited in a high oxygen environment, researchers report. The 60 year old man with a history of COPD was undergoing surgery for a...
An Australian man's chest has caught fire during emergency heart surgery after a dry surgical pack ignited in...
Lung transplants: 8 things we have learned from the WA experience
Although the first lung transplant in Australia was done in 1986, patients in WA had to wait almost two decades before transplantatation started in the state in 2004. Since then, 115 lung transplants have been performed, and Professor Bill Musk...
Although the first lung transplant in Australia was done in 1986, patients in WA had to wait almost two decades...
Pivotal findings for endobronchial valves
Patients with severe emphysema treated with endobronchial valves (EBV) have been shown to have improved lung function, exercise tolerance and quality of life one year following their procedure. However it comes with a pneumothorax rate of 26.6%. The LIBERATE trial, the largest...
Patients with severe emphysema treated with endobronchial valves (EBV) have been shown to have improved lung function, exercise tolerance and...
“We show exactly where the air is going”: the smart lung function test
Australian technology - a 4D, X-ray fluoroscopy-based take on lung function testing - can help pinpoint regional deficits in lung function that global measures such as spirometry cannot. Presented at the ATS 2018 International Conference and with FDA approval pending, 4Dx...
Australian technology - a 4D, X-ray fluoroscopy-based take on lung function testing - can help pinpoint regional deficits in lung...
Lack of CPAP a factor in death of patient after OSA surgery: coroner
A coroner has highlighted the importance of using CPAP and oxygen monitoring immediately after surgery to correct severe obstructive sleep apnea, in the case of a man who died from complications of hypoxia. The Tasmanian coroner investigated the death of a...
A coroner has highlighted the importance of using CPAP and oxygen monitoring immediately after surgery to correct severe obstructive sleep...
Music soothes during pleural tap
Anxiety associated with pleural procedures can be reduced when patients listen to music of their choice, according to a single centre, randomised controlled trial. Speaking at the Gold Coast Health Research Week Conference, respiratory specialist Associate Professor Krishna Sriram said the...
Anxiety associated with pleural procedures can be reduced when patients listen to music of their choice, according to a single...
Undignified death for the Cancer Drug Fund
Countries considering quarantining funds to provide faster access to expensive cancer drugs have been warned - the UK experiment failed. Set up in 2010 with a budget of £50 million per year, the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) ended up costing the...
Countries considering quarantining funds to provide faster access to expensive cancer drugs have been warned - the UK experiment failed. Set...
Pleurodesis findings challenge current guidelines
Current guidelines that advocate the avoidance of NSAIDs and use of small chest tubes in patients with malignant pleural effusion undergoing pleurodesis have been challenged by a group of international experts. Writing in JAMA the research team including Professor Y.C. Gary Lee...
Current guidelines that advocate the avoidance of NSAIDs and use of small chest tubes in patients with malignant pleural effusion...