The clinical respiratory journal
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Determining the optimal time for performing a tracheostomy and weaning a patient off a ventilator is typically challenging for physicians, respiratory therapists, patients and patients' families. ⋯ Tracheostomy timing was strongly correlated with ventilator weaning. Early tracheostomy was higher successful ventilator weaning rates. The surgical patients were more likely to receive an early tracheostomy. However, the number of patients in Taiwan who received tracheostomies was lower than that in other countries. Further study maybe need to understand cultural variations in the acceptance of tracheostomies by patients.
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Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)-therapy is the first-line treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). A significant limitation of CPAP treatment is the poor therapy adherence, compromising the beneficial effects. ⋯ Improving CPAP adherence is an ongoing challenge. This study shows that a multi-modality approach, using a combination of individual and group education using a slide presentation open for discussion resulted in improved therapy adherence.
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The co-existence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common phenomenon referred to as overlap syndrome (OS). In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of OS in mild hypoxemic COPD patients without OSA symptoms and compared characteristics of OS and COPD patients. ⋯ This findings support that high prevalence (58%) of OS in COPD patients without OSA symptoms is related to BMI. Therefore, sleep study should be considered in especially overweight or obese COPD patients, even in those without sleep apnea symptoms.
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Letter Case Reports
When the bronchoalveolar lavage makes the diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia.