ConclusionsS-OIV infection can cause severe illness, the acute respiratory distress syndrome, and death in previously healthy persons who are young to middle-aged. None of the secondary infections among health care workers were severe.

We hypothesised that biomass smoke exposure is associated with an airway-predominant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) phenotype, while tobacco-related COPD is associated with an emphysema-predominant phenotype.In this cross-sectional study, female never-smokers with COPD and biomass exposure (n521) and female ex-cigarette smokers with COPD without biomass exposure (n522) completed computed tomography (CT) at inspiration and expiration, pulmonary function, blood gas, exercise tolerance, and quality of life measures. Two radiologists scored the extent of emphysema and air trapping on CT. Quantitative emphysema severity and distribution and airway wall thickness were calculated using specialised software.Women in the tobacco group had significantly more emphysema than the biomass group (radiologist score 2.3 versus 0.7, p50.001; emphysema on CT 27% versus 19%, p50.046; and a larger size of emphysematous spaces, p50.006). Women in the biomass group had significantly more air trapping than the tobacco group (radiologist score 2.6 and 1.5, respectively; p50.02) and also scored lower on the symptom, activities and confidence domains of the quality of life assessment and had lower oxygen saturation at rest and during exercise (p,0.05).Biomass smoke exposure is associated with less emphysema but more air trapping than tobacco smoke exposure, suggesting an airway-predominant phenotype. @ERSpublications Biomass smoke causes less emphysema but more air trapping than tobacco smoke: airwaypredominant COPD phenotype?

Women exposed domestically to biomass develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with clinical characteristics, quality of life, and increased mortality similar in degree to that of tobacco smokers.

T h e ne w e ngl a nd jou r na l o f m e dicine n engl j med nejm.org 1 The authors' full names, academic degrees, and affiliations are listed in the Appendix. Address reprint requests to Dr. BACKGROUNDThe efficacy and safety of benralizumab, an interleukin-5 receptor alpha-directed cytolytic monoclonal antibody, for the prevention of exacerbations in patients with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not known. METHODSIn the GALATHEA and TERRANOVA trials, we enrolled patients with COPD (at a ratio of approximately 2:1 on the basis of eosinophil count [≥220 per cubic millimeter vs. <220 per cubic millimeter]) who had frequent exacerbations despite receiving guideline-based inhaled treatment. Patients were randomly assigned to receive benralizumab (30 or 100 mg in GALATHEA; 10, 30, or 100 mg in TERRANOVA) every 8 weeks (every 4 weeks for the first three doses) or placebo. The primary end point was the treatment effect of benralizumab, measured as the annualized COPD exacerbation rate ratio (benralizumab vs. placebo) at week 56 in patients with baseline blood eosinophil counts of 220 per cubic millimeter or greater. Safety was also assessed. RESULTSIn GALATHEA, the estimates of the annualized exacerbation rate were 1.19 per year (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 1.36) in the 30-mg benralizumab group, 1.03 per year (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.19) in the 100-mg benralizumab group, and 1.24 per year (95% CI, 1.08 to 1.42) in the placebo group; the rate ratio as compared with placebo was 0.96 for 30 mg of benralizumab (P = 0.65) and 0.83 for 100 mg of benralizumab (P = 0.05). In TERRANOVA, the estimates of the annualized exacerbation rate for 10 mg, 30 mg, and 100 mg of benralizumab and for placebo were 0.99 per year (95% CI, 0.87 to 1.13), 1.21 per year (95% CI, 1.08 to 1.37), 1.09 per year (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.23), and 1.17 per year (95% CI, 1.04 to 1.32), respectively; the corresponding rate ratios were 0.85 (P = 0.06), 1.04 (P = 0.66), and 0.93 (P = 0.40). At 56 weeks, none of the annualized COPD exacerbation rate ratios for any dose of benralizumab as compared with placebo reached significance in either trial. Types and frequencies of adverse events were similar with benralizumab and placebo. CONCLUSIONSAdd-on benralizumab was not associated with a lower annualized rate of COPD exacerbations than placebo among patients with moderate to very severe COPD, a history of frequent moderate or severe exacerbations, and blood eosinophil counts of 220 per cubic millimeter or greater (Funded by AstraZeneca [GALATHEA and TERRANOVA] and Kyowa Hakko Kirin [GALATHEA]; GALATHEA and TERRANOVA ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT02138916 and NCT02155660.)A BS TR AC T

The increase of Th17 response and the lost of balance between CD4(+) T cell subsets, suggest a lack of regulation of the systemic inflammatory response that may contribute to pathogenesis in COPD patients.

In the biomass exposure COPD group the rate of FEV1 decline is slower and shows a more homogeneous rate of decline over time in comparison with smokers. The rapid rate of FEV1 decline is a rare feature of biomass-induced airflow limitation.

Aims: Data on differences in clinical characteristics and management of COPD in different countries and settings are limited. We aimed to characterize the profi le of patients with COPD in a number of countries and their treatment in order to evaluate adherence to recommendations of international guidelines. Method: This was an observational, international, cross-sectional study on patients with physician-diagnosed COPD. Demographic and clinical characteristics, risk factors, and treatment were collected by their physician via an internet web-based questionnaire developed for the study. Results: A total of 77 investigators from 17 countries provided data on 833 patients. The countries with the highest number of patients included were: Argentina (128), Ecuador (134), Spain (162), and Hong Kong (153). Overall, 79.3% were men and 81% former smokers, with a mean FEV 1 = 42.7%, ranging from 34.3% in Hong Kong to 58.8% in Ecuador. Patients reported a mean of 1.6 exacerbations the previous year, with this frequency being signifi cantly and negatively correlated with FEV 1 (%) (r = -0.256; p Ͻ 0.0001). Treatment with short-acting bronchodilators and theophyllines was more frequent in Ecuador and Hong Kong compared with Spain and Argentina, and in patients belonging to lower socioeconomic levels (p Ͻ 0.0001 for all comparisons). Inadequacy of treatment with inhaled corticosteroids and theophyllines was high, with signifi cant differences among countries. Conclusions: Differences in the clinical characteristics and management of COPD were signifi cant across countries. Adherence to international guidelines appears to be low. Efforts should be made to disseminate and adapt guidelines to the socioeconomic reality of different settings.

BackgroundHypercytokinemia is the main immunopathological mechanism contributing to a more severe clinical course in influenza A (H1N1) virus infections. Most patients infected with the influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 virus had increased systemic levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines; including interleukin IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). We propose that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter regions of pro-inflammatory genes are associated with the severity of influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 virus infection.Methods145 patients with influenza A (H1N1) (pA/H1N1), 133 patients with influenza-like illness (ILI), and 360 asymptomatic healthy contacts (AHCs) were included. Eleven SNPs were genotyped in six genes (TNF, LT, IL1B, IL6, CCL1, and IL8) using real-time PCR; the ancestral genotype was used for comparison. Genotypes were correlated with 27 clinical severity variables. Ten cytokines (GM-CSF, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, IL-10, IL-5, and IL-4) were measured on a Luminex 100.ResultsThe IL6 rs1818879 (GA) heterozygous genotype was associated with severe influenza A (H1N1) virus infection (odds ratio [OR] = 5.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.05–11.56), and two IL1B SNPs, rs16944 AG and rs3136558 TC, were associated with a decreased risk of infection (OR = 0.52 and OR = 0.51, respectively). Genetic susceptibility was determined (pA/H1N1 vs. AHC): the LTA rs909253 TC heterozygous genotype conferred greater risk (OR = 1.9), and a similar association was observed with the IL1B rs3136558 CC genotype (OR = 1.89). Additionally, severely ill patients were compared with moderately ill patients. The TNF-238 GA genotype was associated with an increased risk of disease severity (OR = 16.06, p = 0.007). Compared with ILIs, patients with severe pA/H1N1 infections exhibited increased serum IL-5 (p <0.001) and IL-6 (p  =  0.007) levels.ConclusionsThe TNF gene was associated with disease severity, whereas IL1B and IL6 SNPs were associated with influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.