{"title":"Lung cavitation and mediastinal lymphadenopathy in a patient with a positive tuberculin test: the role of mediastinal cryobiopsy.","authors":"Agamemnon Bakakos, Stavroula Zaneli, Evangelia Koukaki, Nektarios Anagnostopoulos, Grigorios Stratakos","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0343-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0343-2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Lymphoma and TB can coexist in the same patient. Transbronchial mediastinal cryobiopsy is essential in the diagnosis of lymphoma and other benign diseases. EBUS-TBNA is not always sufficient when suspecting lymphoma and other benign diseases.</b> https://bit.ly/4v1nC8Q.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 4","pages":"250343"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659410/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-10-13eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0340-2025
Luca Ratibondi, Virginia Newcombe, Romit J Samanta
{"title":"Mechanical ventilation in acute brain injury.","authors":"Luca Ratibondi, Virginia Newcombe, Romit J Samanta","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0340-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0340-2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acute brain injury (ABI) includes traumatic brain injury, subarachnoid and intracerebral haemorrhage, ischaemic stroke and global hypoxic-ischaemic injury, and patients often require admission to intensive care. Although pathologically heterogeneous, they share common mechanisms of primary injury followed by secondary brain injury. Systemic derangements such as hypoxaemia, dysregulated carbon dioxide tension and elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) may exacerbate secondary injury and should be avoided. Patients with ABI often require invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and of these up to 19-22% may develop acute respiratory distress syndrome. Lung-protective ventilation (LPV) strategies using low tidal volumes and moderate positive end-expiratory pressure to minimise ventilator-induced lung injury are established practices in patients requiring IMV. However, strict application of LPV principles may conflict with neuro-protective goals, particularly carbon dioxide control to optimise cerebral blood flow and avoid rises in ICP. This review examines the physiological tension between lung and brain protection, focusing on neuro-respiratory interactions and brain-lung crosstalk. We synthesise the evidence on ventilatory strategies in the context of patients with ABI, discuss the implications for neurological and pulmonary outcomes, and highlight the need for an integrated, individualised approach to ventilation in these patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 4","pages":"250340"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659421/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-10-13eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0051-2026
Zakaria Lahmar, Engi Ahmed, Quentin Wynands, Paul Reynaud, Arnaud Bourdin
{"title":"Artificial intelligence and digital health in bronchoscopy: advances in diagnostic accuracy, real-time navigation and procedural skills training.","authors":"Zakaria Lahmar, Engi Ahmed, Quentin Wynands, Paul Reynaud, Arnaud Bourdin","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0051-2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0051-2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Artificial intelligence (AI) and procedure-linked digital health technologies are beginning to transform bronchoscopy across three interconnected domains. In terms of diagnostic accuracy, deep learning models applied to endobronchial ultrasound images and bronchoscopic videos can match or exceed human readers in differentiating benign from malignant lesions, although nearly all evidence remains at the level of test-accuracy metrics rather than clinical outcomes. In real-time navigation, AI-augmented fluoroscopy and tomosynthesis platforms represent the clearest example of clinically deployed AI that improves lesion localisation and diagnostic yield for peripheral pulmonary nodules, while camera-based localisation and shared-control robotic systems remain largely preclinical. In training, multiple randomised controlled trials demonstrate that AI-guided simulators significantly improve performance across experience levels, and that AI-derived metrics can objectively assess competence, although the first attempt to show impact on real-world clinical performance was inconclusive. This review synthesises the current literature across these three domains, distinguishing technologies that are currently used in clinical practice with supportive published evidence from those that remain investigational. It provides practising bronchoscopists and trainees with a balanced appraisal of what AI can realistically offer today, what limitations persist, and what developments are likely over the coming decade.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 4","pages":"260051"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659361/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-10-13eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0151-2026
Ana Sofia Grave, Guido Marchi, Mathieu Marillier, Stefan Cristian Stanel, Marjolein A Heuvelmans
{"title":"How to use social media to amplify your professional impact in respiratory medicine.","authors":"Ana Sofia Grave, Guido Marchi, Mathieu Marillier, Stefan Cristian Stanel, Marjolein A Heuvelmans","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0151-2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0151-2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social media has become an integral component of modern medical practice, with most healthcare professionals engaging with it in some capacity. Its use has been associated with enhanced knowledge dissemination, professional networking, and increased visibility of research and clinical expertise. For respiratory healthcare professionals, social media offers particular value in navigating rapidly evolving evidence, technological innovation, establishing international collaborations and ongoing public health challenges. This article summarises current evidence and provides practical guidance on how to use social media to amplify professional impact in respiratory medicine, both in a professional context and in clinical practice with patients. We discuss key definitions, opportunities and limitations, with a focus on responsible and effective use to support collaboration, education and patient engagement.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 4","pages":"260151"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659355/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-10-13eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0058-2026
James Mattson, Kaivalya Deshpande, Deepak Pradhan
{"title":"AI-augmented cardiopulmonary point-of-care ultrasound: a narrative review for pulmonary and critical care clinicians.","authors":"James Mattson, Kaivalya Deshpande, Deepak Pradhan","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0058-2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0058-2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an increasingly utilised tool in pulmonary and critical care medicine, yet its effectiveness remains limited by operator dependency and the required cognitive demands of real-time image acquisition and interpretation. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising approach to augment POCUS by supporting image acquisition, interpretation and quantitative analysis. Given the rapid evolution of this field, clinicians must understand both the capabilities and limitations of AI-enabled POCUS. However, prior reviews have largely catalogued applications without focusing on how these tools integrate into bedside workflows. This narrative review examines AI in cardiopulmonary POCUS through a workflow-based lens relevant to pulmonologists and intensivists. We discuss the role of AI as a bedside coach, interpreter and quantifier, highlighting applications in lung and focused cardiac ultrasound, including pneumothorax detection, B-line analysis, left ventricular function assessment, and identification of other cardiopulmonary pathologies. Across domains, AI demonstrates strong performance in controlled settings, although variability persists in real-world environments due to differences in image quality, patient factors and dataset limitations. Future directions include interactive, clinician-in-the-loop systems, protocol-driven integration, and multimodal data synthesis. A clear understanding of these developments will be essential for clinicians as AI becomes increasingly embedded within bedside patient care.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 4","pages":"260058"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659354/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-10-13eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0045-2026
Mirèse Christine Lilian Kleuskens, Amy Hai Yan Chan, David Drummond
{"title":"Digital health and artificial intelligence in paediatric respiratory medicine: what clinicians need to know and what is coming next.","authors":"Mirèse Christine Lilian Kleuskens, Amy Hai Yan Chan, David Drummond","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0045-2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0045-2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly part of paediatric respiratory clinics, from home-based symptom monitoring and remote consultations to AI-supported test interpretation and large language model (LLM)-supported communication. These tools promise to capture real-world disease and treatment patterns, support self-management, and enhance clinical decisions. Yet for most of these tools, the paediatric evidence base remains limited and fragmented, and the clinical benefit observed in practice is often modest. What has emerged is that effectiveness depends less on the technology itself than on how it fits into the child-parent-clinician triad, on its usability in daily family life, and on its impact on clinical workflow and on equity. Paediatric datasets remain small, heterogeneous and developmental, making extrapolation from adult evidence risky. Over the next 3 years, progress is likely to consolidate rather than expand, with paediatric-specific validation, regulation and routine integration. Clinicians will play a central role: deciding what to adopt, what to question, and what to govern.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 4","pages":"260045"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659407/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-10-13eCollection Date: 2026-10-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0125-2026
Simon Høj, Casper Jensen, Howraman Meteran
{"title":"Clinical performance and practical limitations of large language models in respiratory medicine.","authors":"Simon Høj, Casper Jensen, Howraman Meteran","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0125-2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0125-2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This Journal club discusses three recent studies evaluating large language models (LLMs) in respiratory medicine and allergy. In COPD, ChatGPT-3.5 was rated higher than Bing Chat by respiratory specialists for accuracy, completeness, clarity and safety, although clinically important omissions remained. In asthma, 13 out of 14 models exceeded 85% accuracy on multiple-choice questions and five exceeded 95%, but performance was lower and more variable in objective structured clinical examinations. In allergen immunotherapy, ChatGPT-4 achieved fair overall DISCERN quality, but showed insufficient <i>Journal of the American Medical Association</i> (<i>JAMA</i>) benchmark reliability and produced responses that were often difficult to read. Together, these studies show that LLMs perform best on structured and familiar knowledge tasks, while weaknesses persist in completeness, transparency, readability and clinically nuanced application. Current evidence supports supervised educational use in respiratory medicine and allergy, but not unsupervised patient counselling or autonomous clinical deployment.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 4","pages":"260125"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659368/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149179299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-09-15eCollection Date: 2026-07-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0325-2025
Sara Kussad, Matthew Hurley
{"title":"Optimising respiratory health in children with neurodevelopmental impairment.","authors":"Sara Kussad, Matthew Hurley","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0325-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0325-2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Respiratory complications represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children with neurodisability. Neurodisability includes those with neurological impairment (cerebral palsy), neuromuscular impairment (muscular dystrophies) and developmental impairment (global developmental impairment, genetic syndromes). Respiratory complications arise from a complex interplay of factors including bulbar dysfunction, impaired airway clearance, recurrent aspiration, respiratory muscle weakness, and progressive chest wall restriction. Children with neurodevelopmental conditions (<i>e.g.</i> cerebral palsy, developmental disorders) are particularly vulnerable, with respiratory disease accounting for a substantial proportion of hospital admissions and premature deaths. This review provides an overview of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying respiratory dysfunction in children with neurodevelopmental conditions, outlines assessment strategies, and evaluates current interventions aimed at optimising respiratory health. Key management approaches include airway clearance techniques, secretion management and nutritional optimisation. A multidisciplinary approach incorporating regular surveillance, prevention strategies, and individualised care planning is essential. Despite growing clinical experience, randomised controlled trials remain limited, and significant research gaps persist.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 3","pages":"250325"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13579336/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148988197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BreathePub Date : 2026-09-15eCollection Date: 2026-07-01DOI: 10.1183/20734735.0259-2025
Marie Talty, David O'Reilly, Jasmine Dunne, Jarushka Naidoo
{"title":"Molecules of lung cancer - fusion alterations in nonsmall cell lung cancer: biology and diagnostic considerations.","authors":"Marie Talty, David O'Reilly, Jasmine Dunne, Jarushka Naidoo","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0259-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0259-2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fusion alterations have transformed outcomes for a subset of patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as part of the evolution of precision oncology. While the role of molecular pathology in the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC has rapidly evolved, it remains the responsibility of the pulmonologist to coordinate the diagnostic evaluation of patients with lung cancer, including clinical assessment, obtaining a histological diagnosis and coordination of staging procedures. This review focuses on the biology, clinical significance and diagnostic considerations of fusion alterations in NSCLC. We summarise current knowledge regarding the role of actionable gene fusion translocations, including anaplastic lymphoma kinase (<i>ALK</i>)<i>,</i> ros-protooncogene 1 (<i>ROS1</i>)<i>,</i> retinoblastoma rearranged during transfection (<i>RET</i>) and neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (<i>NTRK)</i> fusions, while outlining clinical decision-making considerations and testing frameworks. For respiratory physicians, it is essential to prioritise suitable diagnostic modalities by taking into account tissue availability, turnaround time, and consideration of next generation sampling methods and noninvasive sampling such as blood-based circulating tumour DNA assays.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 3","pages":"250259"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13579356/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148988221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Respiratory consequences of cervical spinal cord injury: insights from preclinical models.","authors":"Wei Chen, Enora Chaib, Pauline Michel-Flutot, Stéphane Vinit, Isabelle Vivodtzev","doi":"10.1183/20734735.0348-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0348-2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Respiratory dysfunction is one of the most common acute medical issues after cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) and is considered a leading cause of reduced quality of life for long-term survivors. After cSCI, disruption of descending respiratory drive, impairment of respiratory muscle recruitment and altered airway protection combine to reduce ventilatory capacity and cough effectiveness, increasing the risk of atelectasis, pneumonia and ventilator dependence. Although modern intensive care and pulmonary rehabilitation have improved survival, respiratory complications remain a leading driver of hospitalisation, long-term disability and healthcare costs after cSCI. These clinical limitations highlight the need to explore novel therapeutic strategies and mechanistic targets that cannot be systematically tested in human studies and therefore require rigorous evaluation in preclinical models. This review synthesises clinical and preclinical evidence on how cervical injury compromises breathing, with emphasis on insights from experimental models that permit controlled manipulation of lesion level, severity and laterality to link specific injury characteristics to respiratory dysfunction. In particular, we outline the neural control of respiration (highlighting autonomous and volitional pathways linked to spinal respiratory motor pools), summarise the clinical trajectory of respiratory impairment and, finally, provide a comparison of widely used preclinical models, from their typical characteristic patterns of respiratory dysfunction to the lesion pathology that shapes recovery and interpretation of therapeutic studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":9292,"journal":{"name":"Breathe","volume":"22 3","pages":"250348"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13579354/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148988219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}