Respiratory medicine
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Respiratory medicine · Aug 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialComfort and pressure profiles of two auto-adjustable positive airway pressure devices: a technical report.
The purpose of this study was to compare comfort parameters and pressure profiles of the AutoSet (Resmed) and the SOMNOsmart (Weinmann), two auto-adjustable positive airway pressure (APAP) devices. ⋯ While the subjective tolerance of the two APAP machines was comparable, these devices were characterized by different pressure profiles. The pressure parameters of the AutoSet correlated better with Ppred than those of the SOMNOsmart.
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Respiratory medicine · Aug 2003
Endothelin-1 levels in the pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma.
Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The ET-1 levels are elevated during exacerbations of asthma and COPD in bronchoalveolar lavage, serum, and sputum and fails with treatment of the exacerbations. Hypoxemia stimulates ET-1 secretion. ⋯ According to our results: (1) ET-1 levels were significantly higher in "desaturators" COPD patients than in "non-desaturators" COPD and in asthmatics; (2) ET-1 levels were significantly higher during the night than during the day in "desaturators" COPD patients; (3) the degree of desaturation correlated negatively with the ET-1 levels in "desaturators" COPD patients, both during daytime and nighttime. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that ET-1 is implicated in the pathophysiology of asthma and COPD, especially if nocturnal, nonapneic, oxyhemoglobin desaturation exists.