A 56-year-old white woman was referred to the pulmonary clinic for evaluation of unexplained shortness of breath. She enjoyed good health until 3 months prior to this visit when she reported experiencing recurrent episodes of shortness of breath and oppressive retrosternal chest discomfort with radiation to the neck. Episodes lasting 5 to 10 min often occurred at rest and were inconsistently related to physical activity. These symptoms became progressively worse and were often associated with light-headedness and presyncope. Her past medical history was uneventful apart from a prior diagnosis of breast cysts and suspected prolactinoma. Her symptoms escalated to such a level that she was forced to seek urgent medical attention at our institutional ED on two separate occasions in the preceding weeks. These visits precipitated a number of investigations and, eventually, a referral to the pulmonary clinic.

An 80-year-old woman from Iran presented to our institution for evaluation of insidious onset of dyspnea and progressive hypoxemia. She had a history of hypertension, COPD attributed to secondhand smoke, and an unprovoked pulmonary embolus that was treated with lifelong anticoagulation. In addition, she had a history of latent TB status posttreatment with isoniazid 10 years prior. One year ago, home oxygen therapy was started at 4 L/min via nasal cannula, and because of her decline, her son had brought her to the United States 3 months earlier for medical help. After a contrast-enhanced thoracic CT scan followed by a nondiagnostic thoracentesis, another hospital informed her that she likely had inoperable lung cancer. She presented to our institution for a second opinion.

Thromboembolic disorders frequently require antithrombotic treatment during pregnancy and lactation. Vitamin K antagonists and heparins are the treatment options of choice in breastfeeding women. Factors including the route of administration, discomfort during treatment, and fetal and neonatal safety affect women's choices about anticoagulant therapy. Direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have emerged as alternatives to these agents and may offer advantages compared with vitamin K antagonists. As breastfeeding women were excluded from clinical trials evaluating DOACs, no safety and efficacy data are available for these special patients and, crucially, estimates for infant exposure are lacking. Therefore, the manufacturer recommends against using DOACs during the lactation period. We present the case of a patient who stopped breastfeeding owing to a diagnosis of postpartum cardiomyopathy. Anticoagulation with enoxaparin that commenced after the diagnosis of postpartum pulmonary embolism was switched to rivaroxaban. At that time, breast milk samples were collected and rivaroxaban concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. Rivaroxaban appears in human breast milk in comparatively small amounts; its safety has not been determined.

The use of systemic prostanoids in severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is often limited by patient/physician dissatisfaction with the delivery methods. Complications associated with external pump-delivered continuous therapy include IV catheter-related bloodstream infections and subcutaneous infusion site pain. We therefore investigated a fully implantable intravascular delivery system for treprostinil infusion.

Burnout syndrome (BOS) occurs in all types of health-care professionals and is especially common in individuals who care for critically ill patients. The development of BOS is related to an imbalance of personal characteristics of the employee and work-related issues or other organizational factors. BOS is associated with many deleterious consequences, including increased rates of job turnover, reduced patient satisfaction, and decreased quality of care. BOS also directly affects the mental health and physical well-being of the many critical care physicians, nurses, and other health-care professionals who practice worldwide. Until recently, BOS and other psychological disorders in critical care health-care professionals remained relatively unrecognized. To raise awareness of BOS, the Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC) developed this call to action. The present article reviews the diagnostic criteria, prevalence, causative factors, and consequences of BOS. It also discusses potential interventions that may be used to prevent and treat BOS. Finally, we urge multiple stakeholders to help mitigate the development of BOS in critical care health-care professionals and diminish the harmful consequences of BOS, both for critical care health-care professionals and for patients.