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Latest Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine research

The 10 most useful pulmonary and respiratory medicine studies published this week, chosen from Q1 journals and graded on the Oxford CEBM evidence hierarchy. Each paper links to a short summary and the original on PubMed. Updated 7 November 2026.

Top 10 this week

Week of 1 November 2026

  1. 1

    Automated Opportunistic Bone Mineral Density Assessment at Low-Dose CT Lung Cancer Screening: Incident Vertebral Fractures and Mortality

    Radiology · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 1 October 2026

    In 21,856 heavy smokers aged 55 to 74, automated bone-density measurements from lung-screening CT identified a group with osteoporosis whose two-year vertebral fracture rate was 5.9%, compared with 0.9% among those with normal bone density. That exceeds a treatment threshold cited in current guidelines; low bone density was also linked to higher mortality in men, but the analysis does not show that screening or treatment reduces either outcome.

  2. 2

    Clinician-guided digital CBT-I improves sleep quality and apnea severity in patients with co-morbid insomnia and OSA: A Double-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial

    American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 29 October 2026

    In 88 patients with insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea, clinician-guided online cognitive behavioral therapy improved insomnia and sleep quality more than sleep hygiene education at three months. It also reduced apnea events by 6 per hour after treatment, while the comparison group worsened by 2; brief increases in sleepiness occurred, but no related adverse events were reported. Longer-term effects remain unknown.

  3. 3

    Long-term safety and efficacy of twice-yearly depemokimab in type 2 asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype: 2-year integrated analysis of the phase 3a SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2 studies and AGILE open-label extension

    The Lancet. Respiratory medicine · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 29 October 2026

    In a two-year analysis of patients with eosinophilic asthma, the annualized exacerbation rate stayed near 0.5 with continued depemokimab, while improvements in symptoms and lung function were maintained. Serious adverse events occurred in 9% during the open-label extension, with none considered treatment-related or fatal; the long-term findings are encouraging but include an uncontrolled extension and post-hoc analysis.

  4. 4

    Chlorhexidine within a standardized oral-care bundle for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia: a pragmatic cluster-randomized crossover trial in six medical intensive care units

    Critical care (London, England) · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 29 October 2026

    In six medical ICUs, a trial of 1,035 ventilated adults found no reduction in pneumonia when 0.12% chlorhexidine was added to standard oral care: rates were 18.8 versus 16.9 cases per 1,000 ventilator-days. Mortality was also similar, while ICU stays averaged 0.89 days longer with chlorhexidine; the single-hospital findings offer no clear case for routine use.

  5. 5

    Forced vital capacity in pulmonary exacerbations of cystic fibrosis

    Journal of cystic fibrosis : official journal of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 28 July 2026

    Clinical study of pulmonary exacerbations in chronic respiratory disease

  6. 6

    Impact of CT scan-based vs. minimal follow-up on patient-reported outcomes after surgery for non-small cell lung cancer in IFCT-0302 phase III trial

    The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 22 September 2026

    In the IFCT-0302 trial of 1,775 resected NSCLC patients, serial chest CT surveillance was compared with minimal follow-up using chest X-rays. Over five years, time to deterioration in both mental and physical health scores was virtually identical between groups, showing no quality-of-life benefit from routine CT scans. The finding suggests imaging intensity should be weighed against cost and radiation without expecting patient-reported gains.

  7. 7

    Extracorporeal CO2 elimination for acute exacerbation of severe COPD requiring invasive mechanical ventilation: a randomized controlled trial (the X-COPD trial)

    Critical care (London, England) · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 3 September 2026

    In a tiny randomized trial of 18 patients, those receiving ECCO₂R were extubated after roughly 7 days versus 24 days on standard invasive ventilation, a mean reduction of 17 days. Mortality or severe disability at 60 days was lower (0% vs 33%) but the study stopped early, so larger trials are needed to confirm safety and benefit.

  8. 8

    Effect of clarithromycin on the circulating inflammatory proteome in community-acquired pneumonia: a secondary analysis of the ACCESS trial

    Chest · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 17 October 2026

    In a secondary analysis of 197 hospitalized adults, clarithromycin was linked to lower IL-6 levels after 72 hours, while several inflammatory proteins fell in both treatment groups. Researchers identified two immune profiles; in one, 90-day mortality was lower with clarithromycin. This exploratory finding needs confirmation before immune profiling can guide treatment.

  9. 9

    Benralizumab in bronchiectasis: results from the phase 3 MAHALE study

    ERJ open research · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 24 August 2026

    Benralizumab in bronchiectasis, eosinophilic airway disease therapy

  10. 10

    Bronchodilator Drug Delivery With Pressurized Meter-Dose-Inhaler Versus Jet Nebulizer With Noninvasive-Ventilation in Acute-Exacerbation of COPD: A Randomized Controlled Pharmacokinetic Endpoint Trial

    Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · Q1 journal · RCT · Evidence level 1 (High) · 21 October 2026

    In this small randomized trial of adults with acute COPD exacerbations, ipratropium delivered through a modified inhaler mask produced about twice the serum drug level at 30 minutes as jet nebulization. Physiologic outcomes and ventilation duration were similar, while ICU stay and treatment cost favored the inhaler; larger trials must establish whether higher drug levels improve patient outcomes.

Paper of the day, last two weeks

Evidence summaries in Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine

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