Lung
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This study sought to determine whether reduced pulmonary function in obstructive airway disease (OAD) is an independent risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This was a prospective observational study conducted at an outpatient pulmonary clinic. Adults with a known diagnosis of COPD/asthma were enrolled as OAD group. ⋯ There was no correlation between FEV(1) % predicted and total apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index, % time spent below oxygen saturation 90%, and mean oxygen saturation on multiple regression analysis. OSA appears to be common in patients with COPD or asthma in an urban outpatient pulmonary clinic. However, the high prevalence of OSA in OAD patients appears to be due to obesity, and reduced pulmonary function is not an independent risk factor for OSA.
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The objective of this prospective cohort study was to see the effect of the implementation of a Sepsis Intervention Program on the standard processes of patient care using a collaborative approach between the Emergency Department (ED) and Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). This was performed in a large urban tertiary-care hospital, with no previous experience utilizing a specific intervention program as routine care for septic shock and which has services and resources commonly available in most hospitals. The study included 106 patients who presented to the ED with severe sepsis or septic shock. ⋯ There was no improvement in secondary outcomes, including total length of hospital stay, MICU days, and mortality. Implementation of a sepsis intervention program as a standard of care in a typical hospital protocol leads to improvements in processes of care. However, despite a collaborative approach, the sepsis intervention program was underutilized with only 48% of the patients completing the sepsis intervention protocol.
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The use of opioids has been associated with development of sleep-disordered breathing, including central apneas, nocturnal oxygen desaturations, and abnormal breathing patterns. We describe sleep-disordered breathing and its subsequent treatment in a group of obstructive sleep apneic patients on chronic opioid therapy. Clinical evaluation followed by diagnostic overnight polysomnogram was performed in subjects on chronic opioid therapy who met the study criteria. ⋯ Treatment with bilevel positive-pressure therapy with a back-up rate controlled the problem. Nonobese OSA patients with opioid intake have obstructive breathing with a different pattern. In this study, bilevel positive-pressure therapy with a back-up rate was the most effective treatment.
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An excess of neutrophils in the alveoli and lung interstitium has been described in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Engagement of neutrophil Fcγ receptors with IgG complexes may contribute to the pathogenesis of IPF. The neutrophil FcγRIIIb receptor occurs in two codominantly expressed allelic variants, NA1 and NA2, which exhibit different binding affinities for IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses. ⋯ There was no association of FcγRIIIb genotype with disease progression as assessed by serial lung function measurements. FcγRIIIb NA1/2 polymorphisms are associated with IPF disease susceptibility. These results support a role for immunological mechanisms contributing to IPF pathogenesis.
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Comparative Study
Improving Heart rate variability in sleep apnea patients: differences in treatment with auto-titrating positive airway pressure (APAP) versus conventional CPAP.
The effect of positive airway pressure treatments in different modalities on the cardiovascular consequences of the disease in sleep apnea patients is still unclear. We aimed to compare auto-titrating positive airway pressure (APAP) and conventional continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in terms of improving heart rate variability (HRV) in obstructive sleep apnea patients. This was a prospective study done in a tertiary research hospital. ⋯ Sleep characteristics were comparable between the two treatment nights, whereas all-night time domains of HRV analysis such as HF, nuLF, and LF/HF were different between APAP and CPAP nights (2.93 +/- 0.31 vs. 3.01 +/- 0.31; P = 0.041; 0.75 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.71 +/- 0.14; P = 0.027; and 4.37 +/- 3.24 vs. 3.56 +/- 2.07; P = 0.023, respectively). HRV analysis for individual sleep stages showed that Stage 2 LF, nuLF, nuHF, LF/HF parameters entirely improved under CPAP treatment whereas APAP treatment resulted in nonsignificant changes. These results suggest that despite comparable improvement in abnormal respiratory events with APAP or CPAP treatments, CPAP may be superior to APAP in terms of correcting cardiovascular alterations in sleep apnea patients.