Despite the separation of pulmonology from other disciplines, the diseases of the
respiratory system may present systemic symptoms and their treatment cause systemic
effects. Tuberculosis and SARS, atopic asthma, lymphoid interstitial pneumonia, Eosinophilic
Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (EGPA), and immunoendocrinopathy, described in our
Research Topic, are good examples. On the other hand, this makes construction of cohort
studies more difficult. Lessons from individual clinical cases with a comprehensive,
holistic approach can be all the more instructive, especially in rare diseases or
long-term observation (Table 1).
TABLE 1
Complementarity of cohort and case studies.
Studies
Cohort
Case reports
Example (from the Research Topic)
Area
Study of rare diseases or rare constellations
impractical
useful
Wang et al.
Ning et al.
Application in the clinic and treatment strategy
indirect
direct
Ogletree et al.
Ricciardi et al.
Nature of the study
prospective
retrospective
all listed
Comprehensive description of natural history of disease
No
Yes
Wang et al.
(myxedema)
Ricciardi et al. (EGPA)
Time-line of therapeutic regimens with many drugs
No
Yes
Wang et al.
Ricciardi et al.
Risk factors analyzed
limited
multiple
Ricciardi et al.
(population at risk)
Cause-effect relationship (association between exposure and an event)
Statistical correlation
Temporal, pathogenetic links
Ogletree et al.
Ning et al.
Ricciardi et al.
(circumstantial)
Adverse drug reaction and causality assessment
a
Must be planned (usually predictable ARDs)
Simple (e.g., based on drug withdrawal)
Ning et al.
The table shows the areas of knowledge reserved for cohort or case studies, indicating
strengths/weaknesses as well as examples within the article collection (Frontiers
in Pharmacology Research Topic). Case studies give the possibility of collecting all
data (for patient-centered care), instead of those used for planning prospective studies.
a
Unpredictable side effects (also beneficial) are the issue that cannot be directly
planned in cohort studies.
This Research Topic included four high-quality case reports published last year in
Frontiers in Pharmacology, highlighting aspects of clinical pharmacology of drugs
used for the treatment of respiratory diseases. The description of the diagnostic
work-up, clinical assessment, therapeutic measures and monitoring of outcomes of single
cases or small series of patients is a very useful adjunct to large clinical trials,
particularly when evaluating uncommon conditions, such as those presented here: muscle
paralysis, myxedema, or the non-standard (off-label) use of approved drugs (e.g.,
ramatroban and benralizumab in our series, see below). These descriptions represent
examples of personalized medicine, since standard guidelines are missing or not applicable
(Table 1).
Wang et al. described how overlooking untreated hypothyroidism on hospital admission
may lead to severe respiratory distress. The role of hypothyroidism in cardiology
is well known (Kagansky et al., 2023). Although cardiomegaly (primarily due to pericardial
effusion) is a typical sign of myxedema, it develops slowly, rarely causing hemodynamic
distress (Glenn and Braunstein, 2022); therefore, it may go unnoticed for a long time.
Currently, when subclinical hypothyroidism is diagnosed, its late-stage forms, such
as myxedema, are often underestimated, because dyspnea suggests cardiopulmonary disorders.
In the study, a delayed and inadequate initial treatment with low T4 dose was adopted,
thus prolonging edema and causing multi-organ failure. This report also advocates
the use of glucocorticoid treatment in addition to adequate dose of i. v. levothyroxine
(Glenn and Braunstein, 2022), since T4 increases glucocorticoid receptors expression,
facilitating steroid anti-edematous effects through an increased diuretic action (Liu
et al., 2006). The inclusion of steroids in the treatment may be beneficial by interacting
with the hypothalamus-pituitary- adrenal axis (decrease of ACTH and corticotropin-releasing
hormone - direct inhibitor of TSH secretion), as well as by inhibiting pathogenic
IgG autoantibodies synthesis (Zdziarski et al., 2022).
Pulmonary infections, especially with viral pathogens, are considered among the leading
causes of mortality, fast pandemic spread and high economic costs. The efficacy of
Ramatroban, a dual Thromboxane A2 and Prostaglandin D2 receptor antagonist, in COVID-19
pneumonia was described by Ogletree et al. in four cases whose improvement avoided
hospitalization despite initial respiratory distress. The possible mechanisms ranged
from improved ventilation-reperfusion matching, to restored type 1 Interferon production
at epithelial surfaces. Moreover, no long-term sequelae of COVID-19, such as lung
fibrosis (Kimura et al., 2023), were observed.
The treatment of bacterial respiratory infections in the era of antibiotic resistance
is complicated also by adverse drug reactions (ADRs). An estimated 5%–25% of hospital
admissions are due to ADRs, and 6%–15% of hospitalized patients experience serious
ADRs (source VigiAccess–Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) Database—World Health Organization’s
free database), causing significant prolongation of hospital stay (Ramirez et al.,
2022). Ning et al. reported respiratory muscle paralysis in a transplant patient treated
with Polymixin B, a rare but possibly fatal complication of this drug, known for its
potential nephrotoxicity (Sorli et al., 2013) and risk of anaphylaxis (Zhan et al.,
2019). This life threatening ADR should alert doctors treating patients with renal
dysfunctions.
A fourth case report dealt with the treatment of a patient with EGPA experiencing
severe asthma Ricciardi et al. The patient was a difficult case, diagnosed only after
several episodes of pericarditis, with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)
resulting negative, and also considering her young age (22 years). Since oral corticosteroids
had minimal effects, she was treated with an anti-IL-5R, benralizumab, not approved
for EGPA (off-label), at variance with the anti-IL5 monoclonal mepolizumab (Koike
et al., 2023). A rapid benefit was observed, but the interest of this case lies in
the recognition of the pitfalls when diagnosing unusual presentations: also ANCA-negative
patients with early-onset asthma should be investigated for EGPA in future studies.
These four reports illustrate some important points in the field, such as the use
of corticosteroids in severe hypothyroidism, the possible use of benralizumab in systemic
vasculitis, and of ramatroban in COVID-19 (Kupczyk and Kuna, 2017; Al-Kuraishy et
al., 2023). They also show persisting shadows in the pharmacovigilance of colistin,
and pitfalls in diagnosing emergency admissions, such as overlooking untreated hypothyroidism.
Unusual clinical aspects and responses to treatment in this series may help personalized
and more rational pharmacological therapy of respiratory diseases, with the identification
of pertinent outcomes. The case studied may help clinicians choose therapeutic options
in other rare conditions.