We investigated the associations between vitamin D status, the antimicrobial peptides cathelicidin and beta-defensin-2 and outcomes in community acquired pneumonia. In hospitalized patients with community acquired pneumonia, vitamin D deficiency but not antimicrobial peptide levels were associated with increased 30-day mortality. Vitamin D was not associated with levels of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin or beta-defensin-2.

This study assessed the effect of early rehabilitation programme following acute exacerbation of COPD over a period of one year. We found that an eight-week programme resulted in better health status of the subjects at six months but without reduction in health care utilization at one year.

The CRB65 score shows similar characteristics for predicting short-term mortality in acute exacerbations of COPD as its use in community-acquired pneumonia.

Associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 4 (HTR4) gene and asthma were investigated. Two intronic polymorphisms were associated with the risk of asthma. Haplotype analysis also showed an association with asthma. Variations in the HTR4 gene may influence the development of asthma.

Delivered salbutamol dose from spacers using physiologically relevant methods was determined. Respiratory laboratories were surveyed on spacer usage habits.Knowledge of salbutamol delivery and local operational costs of spacer purchase and usage provides for important evidence-based practice.

Chronic cough due to non-acid reflux may be related to cough reflex hypersensitivity caused by neurogenic airway inflammation and mast cell activation, in which weakly acidic reflux is possibly a major factor.

FEV₁ was 140% of predicted in rural Mongolian children compared with 100% of predicted in urban children, suggesting that FEV₁ in apparently healthy urban children may not in fact be normal, but may instead reflect the deleterious effects of ambient air pollution, as indicated by threefold greater ambient CO levels.

A nationwide survey of a Korean population, with stratified random sampling, revealed that the prevalence of COPD was high (13.4%) but that most COPD patients were undiagnosed or under-treated. This study provides further evidence that COPD is prevalent but is underdiagnosed and undertreated.

FEV₁ and specific airway resistance (sRaw) are used interchangeably as markers of bronchodilator response. A 42% decrease in sRaw showed good specificity but poor sensitivity for predicting FEV₁ reversibility, partly because FEV₁ and sRaw have different physiological components.

Volume-guaranteed pressure support (PSV-VTG) theoretically guarantees minute ventilation more effectively than older modes of non-invasive ventilation. The clinical effects of PSV-VTG were evaluated in patients with neuromuscular disease and chronic hypoventilation. PSV-VTG did not outperform older ventilatory modes in terms of efficacy of gas exchange or comfort, and was associated with more patient–ventilator asynchronies.

Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) numbers and colony-forming units (CFU) were compared in COPD and non-COPD patients undergoing thoracic surgery. Both circulating EPC numbers and EPC-CFU were increased during surgery in non-COPD patients, but not in COPD patients. The mobilization and proliferative capacity of EPC may be severely impaired in COPD patients.

A GINA-derived symptom control classification and the ACT are significantly associated with urgent health-care demand in a sample of 4805 community-based asthmatic subjects across Asia. Symptom-based measures may facilitate assessment of control.

Use of an endobronchial ultrasound simulator leads to more rapid acquisition of skills in endobronchial ultrasound, as assessed by an endobronchial ultrasound simulator, compared with conventional training methods using patients. Endobronchial ultrasound simulators show promise for training with the advantage of minimizing the burden of procedural learning on patients.

We show an increase in the expression of EMMPRIN in COPD, reflected by an increased release from bronchial epithelial cells, and that EMMPRIN regulates MMP-9 expression in COPD. This work improves understanding of how EMMPRIN induces the production of MMP-9, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of COPD.

The RI-SUV, as calculated from dual-time-point ¹⁸F-FDG PET delayed imaging, provided better diagnostic accuracy for persistent lung involvement in sarcoidosis at 1 year compared with SUV or ⁶⁷Ga uptake. This technique may be a useful index of persistent inflammation in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.