International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialChronic disease self-management and exercise in COPD as pulmonary rehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial.
Both exercise and self-management are advocated in pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The widely used 6-week, group-based Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) increases self-reported exercise, despite supervised exercise not being a program component. This has been little explored in COPD. Whether adding supervised exercise to the CDSMP would add benefit is unknown. We investigated the CDSMP in COPD, with and without a formal supervised exercise component, to address this question. ⋯ The CDSMP produced à small statistically significant increase in 6MWD. The addition of a single supervised exercise session did not further increase exercise capacity. Our findings confirm the efficacy of a behaviorally based intervention in COPD, but this would seem to be less than expected from conventional exercise-based pulmonary rehabilitation, raising the question of how, if at all, the small gains observed in this study may be augmented.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
ReviewProfile of fluticasone furoate/vilanterol dry powder inhaler combination therapy as a potential treatment for COPD.
Currently, there is no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The limited efficacy of current therapies for COPD indicates a pressing need to develop new treatments to prevent the progression of the disease, which consumes a significant amount of health care resources and is an important cause of mortality worldwide. ⋯ Fluticasone furoate/vilanterol dry powder inhaler combination therapy has been shown to be effective in many controlled clinical trials involving thousands of patients in the regular treatment of stable COPD. This is the first once-daily combination of ultra-long-acting inhaled β2-agonists and inhaled glucocorticoids that is available for the treatment of stable COPD and has great potential to improve compliance to long-term regular inhaled therapy and hence to improve the natural history and prognosis of COPD patients.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
ReviewUpdate on the pathological processes, molecular biology, and clinical utility of N-acetylcysteine in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common and morbid disease characterized by high oxidative stress. Its pathogenesis is complex, and involves excessive oxidative stress (redox imbalance), protease/antiprotease imbalance, inflammation, apoptosis, and autoimmunity. Among these, oxidative stress has a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of COPD by initiating and mediating various redox-sensitive signal transduction pathways and gene expression. ⋯ With regard to the dose-dependent properties of NAC, two recent randomized controlled Chinese trials suggested that high-dose NAC (1,200 mg daily) can reduce exacerbations in patients with COPD, especially in those with an earlier (moderately severe) stage of disease, and also in those who are at high risk of exacerbations. However, there was no significant effect on symptoms or quality of life in patients receiving NAC. Further studies are warranted to investigate the effect of NAC at higher doses in non-Chinese patients with COPD.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
Case ReportsThe successful treatment of hypercapnic respiratory failure with oral modafinil.
Hypercapnic respiratory failure is common in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is usually treated by nasal ventilation. Not all patients requiring such ventilation can tolerate it, with anxiety and phobia influencing their reaction, along with treatment failure. We report the case histories of six patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure who were at risk of death due to refusal of nasal ventilation or its failure despite ongoing treatment. ⋯ Its respiratory stimulant effects appear better than those with protriptyline, which was a drug previously used until its production was discontinued. Our findings suggest that a study of modafinil in hypercapnic respiratory failure would be warranted, especially for patients with treatment failure or intolerance to nasal ventilation. This may offer a way of shortening hospital stay, improving outcome and quality of life, and reducing death and readmissions.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2014
Systemic and pulmonary inflammation is independent of skeletal muscle changes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Nutritional depletion is an important manifestation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which has been related to systemic inflammation. It remains unclear to what degree airway inflammation contributes to the presence or progression of nutritional depletion. ⋯ Nutritional depletion and progressive muscle atrophy are not related to airway inflammation or bacterial colonization. Overspill of pulmonary inflammation is not a key driver of muscle atrophy in COPD.