Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases
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Serum levels of pneumocyte biomarkers KL-6 and surfactant protein D (SP-D) are useful diagnostic markers for interstitial lung diseases. However, associations of serum KL-6 and SP-D with radiologic findings in nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) remain unclear. ⋯ The results indicate that serum levels of KL-6 in NSIP reflect the overall extent of interstitial lesions, which include both inflammatory and fibrotic lesions, while the levels of SP-D mainly reflect the extent of inflammatory lesions.
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Comparative Study
What does built-in software of home ventilators tell us? An observational study of 150 patients on home ventilation.
Recent home ventilators are equipped with built-in software which provides data such as compliance, estimations of leaks, tidal volume, minute ventilation, respiratory rate, apnea and apnea-hypopnea indexes, and percentage of inspirations triggered by the patient (or ventilator). However, for many of these variables, there is neither consensus nor documentation as to what is to be expected in a population of stable patients under noninvasive ventilation (NIV). ⋯ Built-in software of home ventilators provides the clinician with new parameters, some of which are a useful adjunct to recommended tools for monitoring NIV and may contribute to a better understanding of residual hypoventilation and/or desaturations. However, an independent validation of the accuracy of this information is mandatory.
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Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Early short-term application of high-frequency percussive ventilation improves gas exchange in hypoxemic patients.
Hypoxemia in acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) patients represents a common finding in the intensive care unit (ICU) and frequently does not respond to standard ventilatory techniques. ⋯ HFPV improved gas exchange in patients who did not respond to conventional treatment. This improvement remained unaltered until 12 h after the end of HFPV.
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is isolated in advanced stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ PA isolation in sputum in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD is a prognostic marker of 3-year mortality. Poor prognosis is independent of other significant predictors of mortality such as BODE index, age and comorbidity, as measured by the Charlson index.