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gression and dramatic progression. 2020 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.Background Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become the gold standard for high-risk severe aortic stenosis. However, the experience of treating aortic regurgitation (AR) with this technology is still limited. Previously, we have demonstrated excellent 1-year outcomes of transapical TAVI with J-ValveTM (JieCheng Medical Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou, China) in treating predominant AR, while the mid-term outcomes up to 4 years have never been reported. Methods Transapical TAVI with J-ValveTM to treat predominant AR was performed in 47 patients in Zhongshan Hospital from May 2014 through October 2018. Procedural and clinical outcomes with follow-up up to 4 years were analyzed using Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 criteria (VARC-2). Results All patients (age 73.7±7.9 years) were considered to be prohibitive or high-risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) (logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation, 21.1% to 44.4%; mean, 24.3%±5.1%) after evaluated by a multidisciplinary heart team. Transapical implantations were successful in all patients. The clinical outcomes of the entire cohort in the latest follow-up (371 to 1,968 days, median 574 days) included all-cause mortality (6.4%), disabling stroke (2.3%), new permanent pacemaker (6.8%) and valve-related re-intervention (0). Paravalvular leak (PVL) was rate as none or trace in 37 of 44 and mild in 7 of 44 patients at the latest follow-up. Mean transvalvular gradient was favorable after valve implantation during follow-up at 9.3±2.5 mmHg. Conclusions This study revealed that, transapical TAVI with J-ValveTM for treating AR has encouraging mid-term outcomes, and the advantages at one year demonstrated in previous study can be maintained through 4 years. 2020 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.Background Hypothyroidism was recently reported to be common and to predict mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In addition, a high prevalence of hypothyroidism was shown in patients with idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. However, in idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), a clinical significance of thyroid function has not been clarified in detail. The goal of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of thyroid function and the presence of thyroid antibodies in IIP. Methods We have reviewed IIP patients, and analyzed the positivity of thyroid antibodies at first. Next, the relationship of clinical characteristics with thyroid function and the positivity of thyroid antibodies was analyzed. Lastly, the positivity of thyroid antibodies and other autoantibodies was evaluated. Results In IIP patients, thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase antibodies were positive in 17 and 16%, respectively, and 22% of patients had either or both antibodies. Subclinical and/or overt hypothyroidism was confirmed in 7% of IIP patients. The free thyrotropin level had a significant positive correlation with vital capacity and a significant negative correlation with the C-reactive protein and surfactant protein-A levels, and erythrocyte sedimentation ratio (ESR). In addition, autoantibodies suggestive of connective tissue diseases (CTDs) were positive in more than two thirds of IIP patients with the thyroid antibody, and the positive rate of antinuclear and proteinase-3 anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies was significantly higher in IIP patients with thyroid antibodies than those without the antibodies. Conclusions Although thyroid dysfunction is not frequent, thyroid hormones and thyroid antibodies are possibly involved in the pathogenesis of IIP and their evaluation may be clinically useful to identify the clinical phenotype of IIP with autoimmune features. 2020 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.Background Tai Chi is a systematic whole body movement developed in ancient China. It plays an increasingly important role in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our review aimed to explore the impact of Tai Chi on the physical and mental health of patients with COPD. Methods We searched several English and Chinese databases and used the combination of subject words and free words to search for available literature from the establishment of the library until August 28, 2018. Two researchers screened studies and collected the data independently. The study inclusion criteria included (I) patients diagnosed with COPD; (II) Tai Chi or Tai Chi Qigong as an intervention in addition to routine treatment; (III) routine treatment with or without exercises as control group. The primary outcomes were lung function, exercise capacity and health status; (IV) randomized controlled trials. Results Sixteen articles were included from 2009 to 2018 (n=1,096). Th Conclusions Tai Chi may represent an appropriate alternative or complement to standard rehabilitation programs. However, whether Tai Chi is better than pulmonary rehabilitation exercise has not been determined. [https://www.selleckchem.com/products/3-deazaadenosine-hydrochloride.html 3-Deazaadenosine] 2020 Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.Background Several tape fixations for chest tube were proposed, although none have a clear scientific basis. We performed a multicenter survey study to investigate the fixation of chest tubes using an available adhesive tape. We evaluated the strength of tape fixation and the effect of the skin coating material used on the fixation strength. Methods A multi-center questionnaire survey was administered in hospitals with a thoracic surgery division. The net promoter score (NPS) was used to measure the medical staff's satisfaction with an adhesive tape fixation. Fixing strength was calculated as follows a chest tube was fixed using each taping method to a polyethylene plate and was pulled out in the long axis direction. While pulling out, the maximum resistance force [Newton (N)] and total resistance force [Joule (J)] were measured to calculate the fixing strength. Results The doctors' NPS showed no significant difference between handmade tape fixation and Quickfix 7 [5-8] vs. 10 [5-10] points, P=0.34. The nurses' NPS showed no significant difference between handmade tape fixation and Quickfix 5 [5-8] vs.