Purpose To evaluate the post-coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outcome of thyroid function in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related thyrotoxicosis. Methods This was a single-center prospective study involving 29 patients (11 females, 18 males; median age 64 years, range: 43-85) with thyrotoxicosis diagnosed after hospitalization for COVID-19 and then followed-up for a median period of 90 days (range: 30-120) after hospital discharge. At follow-up, patients were evaluated for serum thyrotropin (TSH), freethyroxine (FT4), free-triiodiothyronine (FT3), TSH receptor antibodies (TRAb), thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and ultrasonographic thyroid structure. Results After recovery of COVID-19, serum TSH values significantly increased (P < 0.001) and FT4 values significantly decreased (P = 0.001), without significant change in serum FT3 (P = 0.572). At follow-up, 28 subjects (96.6%) became euthyroid whereas overt hypothyroidism developed in one case. At the ultrasound evaluation of thyroid gland, hypoecogenicity was found in 10 patients (34.5%) and in these cases serum TSH values tended to be higher than those without thyroid hypoecogenity (P = 0.066). All subjects resulted to be negative for TgAb, TPOAb and TRAb. Conclusion In a short-term follow-up, thyroid function spontaneously normalized in most subjects with SARS-CoV-2-related thyrotoxicosis. However, thyroid hypoecogenicity was found in a remarkable number of them and future longer-term studies are needed to clarify whether this ultrasonographic alteration may predispose to develop late-onset thyroid dysfunction.

A substantial increase in broad-spectrum antibiotics as empirical therapy in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has occurred over the last 15 years. One of the driving factors leading to that has been some evidence showing an increased incidence of drug-resistant pathogens (DRP) in patients from a community with pneumonia, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Research has been published attempting to identify DRP in CAP through the implementation of probabilistic approaches in clinical practice. However, recent epidemiological data showed that the incidence of DRP in CAP varies significantly according to local ecology, healthcare systems and countries where the studies were performed. Several studies also questioned whether broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage might improve outcomes in CAP, as it is widely documented that broad-spectrum antibiotics overuse is associated with increased costs, length of hospital stay, drug adverse events and resistance. The aim of this review is to analyze the different approaches used to identify DRP in CAP patients as well as the outcomes and adverse events in patients undergoing broad-spectrum antibiotics.

High-flow nasal therapy (HFNT) provides several pathophysiological benefits in chronic respiratory disorders. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of long-term HFNT in patients with bronchiectasis (BE). Methods: This is a retrospective bicentric case-control study of outpatients with BE on optimized medical treatment with a severe exacerbation requiring hospitalization in the previous year. Patients on long-term home HFNT (cases) and patients on optimized medical treatment alone (controls) were matched by age, sex, bronchiectasis severity index, and exacerbations in the previous year. Data on BE exacerbations, hospitalizations/year, mucus features, respiratory symptoms, and pulmonary function were collected. The primary outcome was the change from baseline in the exacerbation rates at 12 months between groups. Results: 20 patients in the HFNT group and 20 controls were included. A significant reduction in exacerbations [−1.9 (−2.8 to −0.9), p = 0.0005] and hospitalizations [−0.7 (−1.1 to −0.3), p = 0.0006] was found in the HFNT group vs controls. A slight improvement in pulmonary function [FEV1% +6,1% (+1% to +11.3%) (p = 0.0219), FVC% +4.6% (+0.8% to +8.3%) (p = 0.0188) and FEF25–75% +13.4 (+11 to +15.9) (p = 0.0189) was also found in the HFNT group compared to controls. Conclusions: In this preliminary study, long-term domiciliary HFNT improved the clinical course of patients with BE.