Strategies to prevent and treat pneumonia must be strengthened to address the large global burden

    Cape Town, Glenview, Lausanne, Montevideo, New York, Paris, Tokyo (November, 12, 2016) In support of World Pneumonia Day, 12 November, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) calls for global efforts to strengthen effective strategies to protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia.

    Case of the missing crucifix

    Tuesday, October 25, 1:30 p.m., Exhibit Hall, Poster 209

    A medical student from National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition Salvador Zubiran, Mexico, will present a patient who swallowed an usual object that got stuck. A 46-year-old man with a history of multiple substance abuse came seeking attention because of difficulty swallowing. After a chest film revealed a t-shaped foreign object in his esophagus, doctors attempted an endoscopy to remove the metallic foreign body with no success. He underwent surgery to successfully remove the t-shaped object, a small metal crucifix. He was discharged uneventfully.

    LOS ANGELES (October 17, 2016)– According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry, more than 70,000 people worldwide are suffering from the disease, with approximately 1,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Adherence to inhaled and oral therapies for cystic fibrosis patients is discouragingly low, ranging 31-35 percent for inhaled antibiotics. Programs to enhance adherence have had mixed success; a new pilot study from Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, California, shows remarkable improvement in adherence using Bluetooth technology.

    From pleasure to pain? Ecstasy and heart failure

    Tuesday, October 25, 1:30 p.m., Los Angeles Convention Center Exhibit Hall, Poster 516

    A medical student from Abington Jefferson Health in Abington, Pennsylvania, will present a case of methamphetamine-induced acute coronary syndrome. A 22-year-old man was brought to the emergency department (ED) for an evaluation of acute onset shortness of breath and chest pain. The patient reported he had taken “ecstasy” (“Molly”, MDMA) six hours before coming to the ED.

    LOS ANGELES (October 17, 2016) – A study from Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, Wisconsin, reveals to the value of blood-based genomic and proteomic testing in patients with lung cancer at the time of initial diagnoses. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) refers to a group of cancers that share common characteristics but have different genetic features that make them more or less responsive to specific treatments. In this study, genomic and proteomic testing of blood specimens rapidly identified genetic mutations that determined optimal, personalized treatment. Compared with testing of biopsy specimens, the blood tests yielded both important diagnostic information much faster (within 72 hours) regardless of disease stage, and significantly decreasing the wait period between diagnoses and the start of treatment.