Amir Bar-Shai

• Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

12079 Background: Living with lung cancer (LC) is a prolonged and challenging journey, where the disease's consequences and treatment-related adverse events significantly affect the quality of life (QOL) of patients. Recognizing these challenges, healthcare professionals (HCPs) in collaboration with a patient advocacy organization designed and impl...

Background Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the main clinical feature of antisynthetase syndrome (ASS). In the absence of randomized controlled trials to guide therapy, treatment strategies are often extrapolated from other diseases, mainly systemic sclerosis (SSc). Objectives Our aim was to evaluate the dynamics of ILD severity following immuno...

Background Tezepelumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), has demonstrated efficacy for severe asthma in clinical trials, but real-world evidence remains limited. We aimed to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients initiating Tezepelumab in a real-world setting. Methods We conducted a retrospective,...

Background: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is used in the evaluation of unexplained dyspnea. However, its interpretation requires expertise that is often not available. We aim to evaluate the utility of ChatGPT (GPT) in interpreting CPET results. Research design and methods: This cross-sectional study included 150 patients who underwent...

Hintergrund: In den letzten Jahrzehnten wurde in verschiedenen randomisierten kontrollierten Studien (RCT) die Wirksamkeit biologischer Therapien für COPD untersucht. Dennoch wurde in diesem Bereich noch keine Auswertung von Real-World-Daten und Kennzahlen bezüglich Patienten-berichteter Outcomes (PROM) durchgeführt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit stel...

Background Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are known to be associated with bronchiectasis (BE). However, data detailing the prevalence of BE among patients with IBD (IBD-BE), its risk factors, and clinical characteristics are limited. Methods This was a single center retrospective study including patients who visited an IBD unit at a tertiary ce...

Purpose Exacerbations of COPD (ECOPD) significantly impact disease progression and mortality. Visiting a respiratory specialist (RS) in proximity to the exacerbation may lead to prompt treatment and improved outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the association between an RS visit 30-days before admission and exacerbation outcomes. Patients and methods T...

Background: Over the last few decades, the efficacy of biological therapies for COPD has been evaluated by different randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Still, the evaluation of real-world data and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have not been performed in this field before. In the current work, we present a systematic literature review...

Research Question Advanced bronchoscopic procedures became a widely prevalent evaluation and treatment modality. These procedures require appropriate sedation and respiratory support. This study directly compares three respiratory support methods during advanced bronchoscopy. Methods This 3-arm, prospective, block randomized trial included 60 cons...

Background: COPD exacerbations are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Although inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) have a role as long-term treatment, their efficacy in exacerbations, particularly as an adjunct to systemic steroids, remains unclear. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we analyzed data from 870 subjects admitted...

Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a common cause for emergency department (ED) visits. Still, large scale studies that assess the management of AECOPD in the ED are limited. Our aim was to evaluate treatment characteristics of AE-COPD in the ED on a national scale. A prospective study as part of the COPD Israel...

Purpose Although considered contributors to idiopathic bronchiectasis (IB), neither dysphagia nor silent aspiration have been systematically evaluated in IB patients. We aimed to explore the prevalence of asymptomatic dysphagia and silent aspiration in IB patients and to identify parameters predictive of their presence. Methods This prospective co...

COVID-19 vaccination and acute infection result in cellular and humoral immune responses with various degrees of protection. While most studies have addressed the difference in humoral response between vaccination and acute infection, studies on the cellular response are scarce. We aimed to evaluate differences in immune response among vaccinated p...

Background: Impulse oscillometry (IOS) is a noninvasive technique that measures lung physiology independently of patient effort. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the utility of IOS parameters in comparison with pulmonary function testing (PFT) among hospitalized subjects, with emphasis on obstructive and small airway diseases. Method...

Hospitalized patients with a high suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis (HS-PTB) are isolated until a definite diagnosis can be determined. If doubt remains after negative sputum samples, bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is often sought. Still, evidence of the added value of BAL in this patient population is scarce. To address this issu...

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a major health concern with urgent unmet need for treatment options. There are three million new ARDS cases annually, and the disease’s mortality rate is high (35–46%). Cluster of differentiation 24 (CD24), a long-known protein with multifaceted functions, is a small, heavily glycosylated, membrane-anch...

Severe COVID-19, with the need in supplemental oxygen and hospitalization, leads to major burden on patients and healthcare systems. As a result, safe and effective ambulatory treatment strategies for severe COVID-19 are of urgent need. In this systematic review, we aimed to evaluate interventions to transition care to the ambulatory setting for pa...

Background Waning immunity after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations creates the constant need of boosters. Predicting individual responses to booster vaccines can help in its timely administration. We hypothesized that the humoral response to the first two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine can predict the response to the booster vacci...

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) evaluation often requires lung biopsy for definite diagnosis. In recent years, transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB) emerged as a procedure with higher diagnostic yield than transbronchial forceps biopsy (TBFB), especially for fibrotic ILDs. Nonetheless, studies comparing these modalities in non-fibrotic ILDs...

Medical follow-up of symptomatic patients after acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) results in major burdens on patients and healthcare systems. The value of serological markers as part of this follow-up remains undetermined. We aimed to evaluate the clinical implications of serological markers for follow-up of acute COVID-19. For this purpos...

Background: Respiratory sequela after acute COVID-19 is common and requires medical follow-up. Considering its vast economic impact, there is still no consensus regarding the mid-term follow-up plan after recovery. Objective: To evaluate the necessity of a close pulmonary follow-up schedule after acute COVID-19 and its related investigations. M...

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a heterogeneous interstitial lung disease (ILD) that may be difficult to confidently diagnose. Recently, the 2020 ATS/JRS/ALAT HP diagnostic guidelines were published, yet data validating their performance in real-life settings are scarce. We aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of the HP guidelines compar...

Background Anti synthetase syndrome (ASS) is an inflammatory myositis with autoantibodies against one of the aminoacyl transfer RNA synthetase. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a main clinical feature which dictates the prognosis and treatment. Since there are no randomized controlled trials to guide therapy, treatment strategies are extrapolated...

Aims: To evaluate the role of nanoparticles (NP) in sputum samples of active smokers as markers of inflammation and disease. Materials & methods: 29 active smokers were included (14 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) and underwent clinical assessment, pulmonary function tests, sputum induction (with NP analysis) and blood sampling....

Background: Tezepelumab is a human monoclonal antibody that blocks thymic stromal lymphopoietin. The drug has been tested previously in the phase 3 NAVIGATOR (NCT03347279) and SOURCE (NCT03406078) studies, and was subsequently approved as a treatment for severe asthma. This extension study recruited from NAVIGATOR and SOURCE and aimed to evaluate...

Background: A third dose of the BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine leads to a significant increase in antibody levels, however, concerns regarding the long-term persistence of this response exist. We assessed the humoral response for one year following vaccination. Methods: A prospective study among immunocompetent healthcare workers (HCW) who received...

Background: SARS-CoV-2 is a novel human pathogen causing Coronavirus Disease 2019 that has caused widespread global mortality and morbidity. Since health workers in Israel were among the first to be vaccinated, we had a unique opportunity to investigate the post-vaccination level of IgG anti-S levels antibodies (Abs) and their dynamics by demograp...

Background and objective: While there are multiple studies on the anti-tumoral effects of Panax ginseng as active ingredients (one or more ginsenosides derived from the extract) or as a whole plant extract, there is a lack of studies to assess the effects Panax ginseng's of active ingredients combined with the whole plant extract. Our aim was to s...

Background: Lung percutaneous needle biopsy (PNB) is routinely used to diagnose lung cancer. The most prevalent complications of PNB are pneumothorax and bleeding. Differences in characteristics of medical procedures between rural and urban hospitals are well known. Objectives: To compare characteristics of patients and lesions between two hospi...

Background: The most prevalent complication of percutaneous lung biopsy is pneumothorax (PNX). A routine immediate post-procedure CT scan (ICT) to spot PNX is done in many centers. However, the diagnostic yield of this practice has not been studied broadly. We sought to evaluate whether an ICT could replace the routine follow-up chest X-ray (CXR)...

Background The diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension requires right heart catheterization (RHC) which is typically performed via proximal venous access (PVA). Antecubital venous access (AVA) is an alternative approach for RHC that can minimize complications, decrease procedural duration and allow for immediate patient recovery. A direct comp...

Background: Lung function is inversely associated with coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease. High-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) was recently found to represent early subclinical cardiac disease even in healthy individuals. We explored the inter-relationship between lung function and hs-cTnT and the changes over time in these...

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory disease characterized by a progressive and irreversible deterioration of lung function. Exacerbations of COPD have prolonged negative effects on pulmonary function and a major impact on health status and outcomes. NLRP3 inflammasome is a cardinal component of the inflammator...

Most studies on asbestos-related diseases describe the associations between exposure and disease and the factors influencing that association. It is recognized that there is a long latency period between exposure and disease, but the health status of affected individuals after long-term non-exposure is uncertain. To describe the changes in pulmonar...

To retrospectively evaluate whether findings on initial chest radiographs of influenza A (H1N1) patients can help predict clinical outcome. Institutional review board approval was obtained; informed consent was waived. All adult patients admitted to the emergency department (May to September 2009) with a confirmed diagnosis of H1N1 influenza who un...

Familial dysautonomia (FD) is a hereditary disease of the autonomic and sensory nervous system. A prominent manifestation of FD is gastrointestinal dyscoordination, which contributes to the morbidity and mortality in FD. As the myenteric plexus is an essential factor in gastrointestinal motility control, we compared its morphology in appendices of...