By Jadwiga A. Wedzicha, MD, editor, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Follow Dr. Wedzicha on Twitter @ATSBlueEditor

Randomized Controlled Trial of Urokinase versus Placebo for Non-draining Malignant Pleural Effusion

In the Feb. 15 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Eleanor K. Mishra, MD, and co-investigators report on the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial to assess the effect of adjunctive intrapleural urokinase on improving pleurodosis is patients with malignant pleural effusion. The researchers found that there was “no difference in the key clinical outcomes of dyspnea or time to pleurodesis failure over one year.”

There was a small, but statistically significant, decrease in mortality in the urokinase group, which may be explained by an excess of patients with lung cancer in the placebo group, and those in the urokinase group had shorter hospital stays.  Both findings, the authors say, should be investigated in future studies. Meanwhile, they conclude, “alternative palliative measures should be used to relieve breathlessness in this patient group.”

AJRCCM Highlights
Feb. 1

Research Priorities in Pathophysiology for Sleep-disordered Breathing in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement

Interferon-stimulated Gene Expression, Type-2 Inflammation, and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Asthma

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Alters Immune Cell Composition and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Nintedanib with Add-On Pirfenidone in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Results of the INJOURNEY Trial

Effect of Early Life Geohelminth Infections on the Development of Wheezing at 5 Years of Age

ASK1 Inhibition Halts Disease Progression in Preclinical Models of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Patient Education/Information Series: What Is Sarcoidosis?

Feb. 15

Novel Blood-based Transcriptional Biomarker Panels Predict the Late-Phase Asthmatic Response

Comparison of 2017 and 2015 Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease: Impact on Grouping and Outcomes

Red Blood Cells Homeostatically Bind Mitochondrial DNA through TLR9 to Maintain Quiescence and Prevent Lung Injury

Features and Outcomes of Methamphetamine-associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension