Chest
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Mobile health (mHealth) technologies are modernizing medicine by affording greater patient engagement, monitoring, outreach, and health-care delivery. The cardiopulmonary fields have led the integration of mHealth into clinical practice and research. mHealth technologies in these areas include smartphone applications, wearable devices, and handheld devices, among others, and provide real-time monitoring of numerous important physiological measurements and other key parameters. Use of mHealth-compatible devices has increased in recent years, and age and socioeconomic gaps of ownership are narrowing. ⋯ However, there is little regulation on the mHealth platforms available for commercial use and even fewer guidelines on implementing evidence-based practices into mHealth technologies. Online security is another challenge and necessitates development in data collection infrastructure to manage the extraordinary volume of patient data. Continued research on long-term implications of mHealth technology and the integration of effective interventions into clinical practice is required.
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Bruxism is a heterogeneous condition related to various underlying mechanisms, including the presence of OSA. This case report illustrates that sleep mandibular movement monitoring and analysis could provide a useful opportunity for detection of both sleep bruxism and respiratory effort. The current case suggests that tracking of respiratory effort could enable evaluation of bruxism and its potential interactions. Successful treatment of sleep-related respiratory effort may lead to improved or resolution of bruxism in cases where such a causal relationship does exist.
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Bronchoscopy is essential to the practice of pulmonary medicine. It is an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool for many disease processes. Bronchoscopy can be performed in a variety of clinical settings, from the bedside to an operating room. ⋯ Designing a bronchoscopy suite is by no means a "one size fits all" process. We present an overview of critical features to be considered in the planning for an ideal bronchoscopy suite. We use the term "ideal" because it represents a subjective conception of what is perfect and does not convey a rigid, universal blueprint.
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The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a commonly used test for the objective assessment of functional exercise capacity for the management of patients with moderate-to-severe pulmonary disease. Unlike pulmonary function testing, the 6MWT captures the often coexisting extrapulmonary manifestations of chronic respiratory disease, including cardiovascular disease, frailty, sarcopenia, and cancer. In contrast with cardiopulmonary exercise stress testing, this test does not require complex equipment or technical expertise. ⋯ Code 94617 includes exercise test for bronchospasm including pre- and postspirometry, ECG recordings, and pulse oximetry. Code 94618, pulmonary stress testing (eg, 6MWT), includes the measurement of heart rate, oximetry, and oxygen titration when performed. If 94620 is billed after January 2018 it will not be reimbursed.