Browsing by Author "Janjic, Sanja Dimic (57208444020)"

Endobronchial tuberculosis is a rare form of tuberculosis that is characterized by the presence of tuberculous granuloma within the respiratory tract, usually in the trachea or main bronchi. Multiple key notes regarding this form make it difficult to detect and treat, which can lead to prolonged, lifelong even, problems that lead to a significant loss in quality of life. Even if the conventional treatment for tuberculosis is started on time, endobronchial tuberculosis can still develop. In those cases, a bronchoscopy should be performed to objectify the type of endobronchial tuberculosis and treat it in order to prevent permanent airway stenosis. In this paper, we will note the main characteristics of endobronchial tuberculosis, as well as bronchoscopy procedures used for its treatment such as balloon dilatation, laser, argon plasma coagulation, cryotherapy, and implementation of the stent. The main goal is to raise awareness of endobronchial tuberculosis to reduce the risk of complications of its mistreatment. Copyright © 2025 Popevic et al.

SUMMARY COPD very often coexist with comorbidities, usually sharing the same risk factors and negatively influencing other diseases. COPD and comorbidities are caused and worsened by inflammatory and oxidative mechanisms with prevalence ranging from 20% to 81%. Cardiovascular diseases (CD) have the highest incidence and potentially the highest risk of death, taking into account other comorbidities. Common pathophysiological mechanisms are endothelial dysfunction, pro-coagulant and pro-inflammatory conditions and obesity. The most common cardiovascular comorbidities are coronary heart disease, heart failure, arterial hypertension and peripheral vascular disease. Reduction in FEV1 increases the rate of coronary events and mortality. Timely diagnosis of CD in COPD patients is necessary, as well as making diagnosis of COPD in patients with CD. Invasive and noninvasive assessment of CHD is often difficult in COPD patients because they exhibit respiratory limitations during exercise and stress. Arterial hypertension and peripheral vascular disease occur frequently in COPD patients due to endothelial dysfunction. Pulmonary function is negatively correlated with blood pressure in a healthy population and COPD patients. The prevalence of heart rhythm disorders is 12%– 14% in COPD patients and atrial fibrillation is the most common among them. Inhaled long-acting beta-2-agonists have an acceptable safety profile in cardiovascular patients. Osteoporosis is the major COPD comorbidity, which is often under-diagnosed and correlated with poor overall health status and COPD prognosis. Vitamin D deficiency relates to COPD and its comorbidities reducing innate and acquired immunity. Lung cancer, metabolic syndrome, obesity, malnutrition, depression, obstructive sleep apnea, muscle dysfunction and anemia are COPD comorbidities as well. © 2021, PLIVA d.d.. All rights reserved.

Emphysema is an incurable and underdiagnosed disease with obstructive ventilatory impairment of lung function. Despite decades of research, medical treatments available so far did not significantly improve the survival benefits. Different bronchoscopic methods for lung volume reduction (LVR) in emphysema were used in the past 2 decades aiming to close the airways serving the hyperinflated lung regions and to allow the gas in the more distal bullas to be absorbed. Sealants and adhesives can be natural/biological, synthetic and semisynthetic. In lung surgery, lung sealants are used to treat prolonged air leak, which is the most common complication. Sealants can also be applied in bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) as they administer into the peripheral airways where they polymerize and act as tissue glue on the surface of the lung to seal the target area to cause durable permanent absorption atelectasis. Initial studies analyzed the efficacy of bronchoscopic instillation of a fibrinogen–thrombin complex solution in advanced emphysema. Future studies will analyze the effects of adding chondroitin sulfate and poly-l-lysine to thrombin–fibrinogen complex thus promoting fibroblast attachment, proliferation and scarring, causing bronchial fibrostenosis and preventing ventilation of the affected part of the lung. Modifications of these methods were later developed, and the efficacy of BLVR with other sealants was analyzed in clinical studies. Results from current studies using this treatment method are promising showing that it is effective in improving exercise tolerance and quality of life in patients with advanced emphysema. It seems that subjective benefits in dyspnea scores and quality of life are more marked than improvements in lung function tests. The safety profile of sealant techniques in BLVR was mostly acceptable in clinical studies. The definite conclusions about the effectiveness of sealant in BLVR could be difficult because only a small population was involved in the current studies. More randomized large controlled studies are needed in establishing the definite role of biological BLVR in the bronchoscopic treatment of emphysema. © 2018 Milenkovic et al.

Emphysema is an incurable and underdiagnosed disease with obstructive ventilatory impairment of lung function. Despite decades of research, medical treatments available so far did not significantly improve the survival benefits. Different bronchoscopic methods for lung volume reduction (LVR) in emphysema were used in the past 2 decades aiming to close the airways serving the hyperinflated lung regions and to allow the gas in the more distal bullas to be absorbed. Sealants and adhesives can be natural/biological, synthetic and semisynthetic. In lung surgery, lung sealants are used to treat prolonged air leak, which is the most common complication. Sealants can also be applied in bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) as they administer into the peripheral airways where they polymerize and act as tissue glue on the surface of the lung to seal the target area to cause durable permanent absorption atelectasis. Initial studies analyzed the efficacy of bronchoscopic instillation of a fibrinogen–thrombin complex solution in advanced emphysema. Future studies will analyze the effects of adding chondroitin sulfate and poly-l-lysine to thrombin–fibrinogen complex thus promoting fibroblast attachment, proliferation and scarring, causing bronchial fibrostenosis and preventing ventilation of the affected part of the lung. Modifications of these methods were later developed, and the efficacy of BLVR with other sealants was analyzed in clinical studies. Results from current studies using this treatment method are promising showing that it is effective in improving exercise tolerance and quality of life in patients with advanced emphysema. It seems that subjective benefits in dyspnea scores and quality of life are more marked than improvements in lung function tests. The safety profile of sealant techniques in BLVR was mostly acceptable in clinical studies. The definite conclusions about the effectiveness of sealant in BLVR could be difficult because only a small population was involved in the current studies. More randomized large controlled studies are needed in establishing the definite role of biological BLVR in the bronchoscopic treatment of emphysema. © 2018 Milenkovic et al.