There are many factors which might contribute to asthma patients not adhering to their medication, such as access to services, or convenience of use. One well-known and important barrier in the United States is simply cost. Thorax social media editor Dr. Kate Diomede speaks to Dr. Chun-Tse Hung¹, Dr. Steven Erickson²,  and Prof. Chung-Hsuen Wu¹, the authors of a recent study on the subject.

Read the paper: Cost-related non-adherence to medications among adults with asthma in the USA, 2011–2022 

1. School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

2. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

With no identified cause or cure, sarcoidosis is a challenging disease that has a heterogeneous presentation and an unpredictable clinical course. A recent paper in Thorax examined the outcomes for patients grouped by pulmonary function phenotypes, race and sex. First author for the study, Dr. Michelle Sharp¹, joins social media editor Dr. Kate Diomede to talk through the findings.

Read the paper: Pulmonary sarcoidosis: differences in lung function change over time

1. Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

The PulmPEEPs are back with another journal club episode. Dr. Kristina Montemayor and Dr. David Furfaro are joined by Thorax education editor Dr. Christopher Turnbull, and journal club author Dr. Ewan Mackay. They discuss a handful of selected papers focussing on COPD, covering the global impact of different household fuels on lung disease, early signs of CT changes in smokers before the detection of COPD, and a trial of treprostinil for the treatment of COPD related pulmonary hypertension.

Links:

To submit a journal club article of your own, you can contact Chris directly - [email protected]

Lung conditions remain one of the biggest causes of death and cost the economy billions annually. Despite this they receive only 2.5% of total public research investment in the UK. The Asthma + Lung UK charity brought together a number of experts and stakeholders in an effort to improve the working approach to this problem. This group published a letter in Thorax recently with a number of recommendations. One of the authors, Dr. Samantha Walker¹, joins the podcast.

Links:

1. Research and Innovation, Asthma + Lung UK, London, UK

The growing use of artificial stone has seen the emergence of an aggressive, progressive respiratory disease, which is causing silicosis in young people. Dr. Johanna Feary¹ ² joins Thorax's Dr. Kate Diomede in the studio, to discuss. They talk through some the UK's earliest cases, the background to this phenomenon, international response, and the broader history of silicosis as a disease.

Links:

• Artificial stone silicosis: a UK case series

1. National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

A special journal club episode featuring guest-hosts Dr. Kristina Montemayor and Dr. David Furfaro of the PulmPEEPs. They're joined in conversation with Thorax education editor Dr. Christopher Turnbull, and Dr. Imran Howell, author of a recent journal club article in Thorax. Focussing on the theme of airway disease, they discuss the four papers in Imran's roundup, covering topics from nutritional impact on tuberculosis rates to infant vaccination against RSV.

Links:

For more from the PulmPEEPs, visit their podcast's website. You can find them Twitter (@PulmPEEPs) and Instagram (pulmpeeps), and hear past episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

To submit a journal club article of your own, you can contact Chris directly - [email protected]

A new clinical statement from the British Thoracic Society was recently published in Thorax. It describes a building-block approach for how to manage patients with tobacco dependency in a hospital setting. Thorax podcast host Dr. Kate Diomede speaks with two of the authors, Prof. Sanjay Agrawal (1) and Dr. Matthew Evison (2). 

Read the statement: Medical management of inpatients with tobacco dependency

Further reading:

• NCSCT online training

(1) Department of Respiratory Medicine, Glenfield Hospital, Institute for Lung Health, Leicester, UK

(2) Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

What are the effects of high levels of social media consumption amongst young people? New research published in Thorax quantifies the impact that exposure to marketing on online platforms is having, showing a greater likelihood of smoking or vaping with greater time spent on these platforms. Thorax associate editor Prof. Nick Hopkinson (1) joins Dr. Kate Diomede to discuss the paper's findings.

Read the paper: Association of time spent on social media with youth cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use in the UK: a national longitudinal study 

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Asthma prevalence is increasing around the world, and is theorised to be due to a number of environmental factors. One such factor is a sensitivity to house dust mite (HDM) allergens, which is common in asthma patients. Dr. Klaus Bønnelykke (1) joins the podcast to speak with Dr. Kate Diomede about this topic, following the publication of the paper, "Genetic and T2 biomarkers linked to the efficacy of HDM sublingual immunotherapy in asthma".

(1) Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

Please engage in the conversation through the social media channels (Twitter - @ThoraxBMJ; Facebook - Thorax.BMJ) and subscribe on your preferred platform, to get the latest episodes directly on your device each month. We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast, you can leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Socioeconomic deprivation is a driving factor in lung cancer rates. With the roll out of a national lung cancer screening programme in the UK, it's important that the right invitation strategies are used for reaching community members who may be at risk. This episode, Dr. Patrick Goodley (@patrick_goodley) joins host Dr. Kate Diomede to discuss the recent paper, "Invitation strategies and participation in a community-based lung cancer screening programme located in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation."