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BACKGROUND: Smoking behaviour may have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the April 2020 revised smoke-free policy and the high prevalence of heated tobacco product (HTP) use in Japan (10.9% in 2020). This study examined the association between these three events and smoking behaviour changes using 6-month follow-up data from before and during the pandemic. METHOD: Using longitudinal data from an internet survey conducted in February 2020 (baseline) and follow-up in August to September 2020, prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for smoking behaviour changes (increase and quit) were calculated using multivariable Poisson regression with adjustments for potential covariates including three event-related five factors: fear of COVID-19, living in a COVID-19 endemic area, workplace smoking rules, self-imposed smoking rules at home and type of tobacco use (cigarette only/HTP only/dual use). A smoker who reported an increase in smoking intensity in the last month was defined as an increase. A smoker who had stopped both cigarettes and HTPs at follow-up was defined as a quit. RESULTS: We analysed 1810 tobacco users (1448 males (80%); mean age 50.8 years±13.2 SD). At baseline, 930 participants used cigarettes only, 293 HTPs only and 587 both. While 214 (11.8%) users increased smoking intensity, 259 (14.3%) quit both tobacco products. Those who feared COVID-19 were less likely to quit (PR=0.77, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.95), while living in a COVID-19 endemic area was not associated with either smoking behaviour change. Workplace smoking rules were not associated with either smoking behaviour change, but those with no home smoking ban were less likely to quit. Compared with cigarette-only users, HTP-only users were more likely to quit (PR=1.57, 95% CI 1.17 to 2.11), while dual users were more likely to increase smoking intensity (PR=1.35, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.79). CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, dual cigarette and HTP use increased smoking intensity, whereas HTP-only use was associated with quitting but fear of COVID-19 and not having a home smoking ban made it harder to quit.

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We investigated how use of heated tobacco products (HTPs) affects tobacco cessation in a Japanese workplace. We offered cessation programmes for 158 tobacco users from November 2018 to April 2019 and surveyed the quitting rate in August 2019. Successful quitting was defined as stopping use of all kinds of nicotine-containing tobacco products. A Poisson regression analysis adjusted with inverse probability weighting showed that HTP users (either exclusive HTP users or dual users) were less likely than exclusive cigarette users to quit tobacco (risk ratio, 0.77; 95% CIs 0.61 to 0.97, p=0.024). The use of HTPs should not be recommended to assist in smoking cessation. Trial registration UMIN000034719.

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BACKGROUND: Spirometry is useful for evaluating respiratory health status and predicting health-related outcomes. As spirometry requires skilled technician and takes time, it is useful to find simple way for predicting lung function impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate which tests could predict lung function impairment among workers. METHODS: This prospective study included workers of manufacturing industry who underwent health check-ups in 2017. Subjects underwent the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT), spirometry, and physical fitness assessments, including handgrip strength (HGS). Lung function impairment was defined as a decline in any of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), or a FEV1/FVC ratio less than the lower limit of normal (LLN). RESULTS: Complete data on 475 workers (366 men, 50.4% ever smokers) were available. Lung function impairment was observed in 99 subjects (64 men). Men with lung function impairment had significantly higher rate of ever-smoking, passive smoking at home in childhood, high CAT scores, and decreased HGS, compared with those without. On multivariate analyses, ever-smoking (odds ratio [OR], 2.50; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 1.25-4.97), passive smoking at home in childhood (OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.16-6.32), CAT scores (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.12), and HGS (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.57-0.92) were independently associated with lung function impairment in men. CONCLUSIONS: Ever-smoking, passive smoking at home in childhood, high CAT scores, and decreased HGS are significantly associated with lung function impairment in men. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registration number: UMIN000028011. Date of registration: July 1, 2017.

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BACKGROUND: The risk of developing lung cancer is high in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), as few treatment options are available. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are used for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in clinical practice; however, in patients with preexisting ILD, the risk of ICI-related pneumonitis is unknown. We evaluated the efficacy and lung toxicity of nivolumab in patients with NSCLC and ILD. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 216 NSCLC patients who had received nivolumab therapy. The existence of ILD in these patients was determined by lung computed tomography findings; 26 patients had ILD. We evaluated the efficacy of nivolumab by measuring the response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS) duration, and lung toxicity by incidence, severity, and outcome of nivolumab-related ILD. RESULTS: The RR and median PFS of the ILD and non-ILD groups were 27% versus 13% (P = 0.078) and 2.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-5.3) versus 2.9 months (95% CI 2.1-3.4; P = 0.919), respectively. The incidences of total and severe nivolumab-related pneumonitis were significantly higher in the ILD group than in the non-ILD group (31% vs. 12%, P = 0.014 and 19% vs. 5%, P = 0.022, respectively). No death from nivolumab-related pneumonitis occurred. Over 50% of the patients in both groups with nivolumab-related pneumonitis showed improvement over time. CONCLUSION: Relative to the non-ILD group, nivolumab-related pneumonitis was observed more frequently in the ILD group; however, most cases were manageable.

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We report a chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) patient whose initial symptom was pleural effusion, which is extremely rare. A 61-year-old male was referred to our hospital because of leukocytosis with blasts and pleural effusion with chest pain. Bone marrow examination showed trilineage dysplasia with 14% blasts and a normal karyotype. He was diagnosed as having MDS (RAEB) and infectious pleuritis on admission. Despite administration of antibiotics, leukocytosis with monocytosis and pleural effusion progressed rapidly. His diagnosis was then changed to CMML-2 and pleural infiltration due to leukemic cells expressing CD13, CD14 and CD33. After the leukocytosis was brought under control with hydroxycarbamide, the patient's pleural effusion disappeared.

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