Unsuspected and so undiagnosed pulmonary embolism (PE) is an important clinical problem and cause of death.1 Clinicians need to be always alert to the possibility of this treatable condition. Understanding the predictive value of routine tests is crucial if the diagnosis is not to be missed. A chest radiograph is usually the first imaging study to be performed in patients with chest pain or dyspnoea, regardless of the clinical suspicion of PE. Large studies of chest radiographs in patients with proven PE provide a basis for understanding just how much, or how little and why, the chest radiograph can contribute to the diagnosis of PE. The chest radiograph is usually abnormal in patients with PE. In one review of 1063 patients with suspected PE, only 12% of those proven to have PE were found...

Conclusions: The results suggest that co-morbidities may impair HRQoL at an early stage of the disease, while bronchial obstruction becomes a significant determinant of HRQoL only in severe COPD. (Source: BMC Pulmonary Medicine - Latest articles)

Abstract The approach to management of malignant pleural effusions (MPE) has changed over the past few decades. The key goals of MPE management are to relieve patient symptoms using the least invasive means and in the most cost‐effective manner. There is now a realization that patient‐reported outcome measures should be the primary goal of MPE treatment, and this now is the focus in most clinical trials. Efforts to minimize patient morbidity are complemented by development of less invasive treatments that have mostly replaced the more aggressive surgical approaches of the past. Therapeutic thoracentesis is simple, effective and generally safe, although its benefits may only be temporary. Pleurodesis is the conventional and for a long time the only definitive therapy available. However,...

This report highlights the first two cases of MERS coronavirus in the United States. Although these patients were not transplant recipients, it is important for transplant professionals to be aware of this infection and to consider it when evaluating patients with respiratory illnesses and travel to the Arabian peninsula. (Source: American Journal of Transplantation)