Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases
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Comparative Study
Comparison of 8-isoprostane and interleukin-8 in induced sputum and exhaled breath condensate from asymptomatic and symptomatic smokers.
Markers of airway inflammation and oxidative stress have been mainly investigated in moderate/severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or during its exacerbation. They have not been compared in noninvasive specimens such as exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and induced sputum in healthy nonsymptomatic smokers or in those who have symptoms and are at risk for COPD development. ⋯ The levels of both potential markers were clearly higher in the induced sputum than in EBC. The results point to an advantage of induced sputum over EBC for assessing the degree of airway oxidative stress and inflammation in smokers with a potential risk for COPD development.
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There is more than one mechanism which contributes to the increases in upper airway resistance in obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome. Impulse oscillation provides a convenient way of noninvasive monitoring and differentiating the contributions of airway resistance. ⋯ The magnitude of change in airway resistance due to posture is bigger in OSAHS than in non-OSAHS. Zrs, R5 and R20 in supine position were associated moderately with apnea/hypopnea index.
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A significant part of the budget of our bronchoscopy unit represents repair costs for damaged bronchoscopes. ⋯ Only a small number of occurrences of bronchoscope damage in our unit are potentially preventable, but they still represent an important expense. The relatively low occurrence of preventable damage is a result of the successful bronchoscopy training program.
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Smokers have higher incidences of pulmonary diseases. This increased susceptibility may result from cigarette smoke (CS)-induced impairment of the pulmonary immune system. However, the mechanism(s) is not fully understood. ⋯ These results suggest that the inhibition by CS-exposed AM of LPS-induced B lymphocyte proliferation may be caused by the increased superoxide and hydrogen peroxide generation of CS. Therefore, these immunological inhibitions by CS could be associated with increased risk of pulmonary diseases.