Despite advancements in supportive therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), many patients continue to suffer from persistent breathlessness, often due to progressive lung hyperinflation. Management traditionally focused on symptom control, with long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) introduced in advanced or palliative stages.

​Acute lower respiratory tract infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are a leading cause of hospitalization in young children. In Hong Kong, RSV is the primary driver of hospital admissions for children under 5 years old with respiratory viral infections, accounting for 50% of deaths in this age group. Among hospitalized RSV-infected patients, 39.4% required mechanical ventilation, while 21.1% needed inotropic support. Additionally, limited local epidemiological data further complicates this challenge.

Spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) is defined as the existence of air in the pleural space without a precipitating external event. It can be further classified into either primary or secondary based on the presence or absence of pre-existing lung diseases. SP accounts for at least 1,000 hospital admissions per year in Hong Kong. Many patients with SP present to the emergency departments. Traditionally, considerations for intervention rest primarily on the size of pneumothorax and presence of dyspnea. There has been hardly any high-powered clinical studies on SP as the recruitment processes are remarkably difficult, given the emergency nature and acute presentation of many SP. Recently, the results of several practice-changing clinical trials on SP have been published, including new data on the ambulatory devices supporting its selective utilization in clinical practice. In an interview with Omnihealth Practice, Dr. Lui, Mei-Sze Macy presented some new data on the management of SP including the use of ambulatory devices and shared a case of secondary SP which resolved well without any complications after using one of such devices.