Respiratory medicine
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Respiratory medicine · Apr 2006
Comparative StudyComparison of bronchoscopic diagnosis for peripheral pulmonary nodule under fluoroscopic guidance with CT guidance.
A new diagnostic procedure has been established for the selection of appropriate therapy for small lung lesions. We compared the sensitivity of real-time multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) and X-ray television (TV) fluoroscopic guidance for performing bronchoscopy. ⋯ Real-time MSCT fluoroscopic guidance allows the bronchoscopist to accurately determine the location of the instruments in relation to the lesion in real time, thus helping to reduce the number of negative cases.
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Respiratory medicine · Apr 2006
Higher BMI is associated with worse asthma control and quality of life but not asthma severity.
Asthma and obesity tend to co-occur, but relatively few studies have linked obesity, measured using body mass index (BMI), to clinically relevant measures of asthma morbidity. This study assessed BMI in a Canadian sample of asthma outpatients, and evaluated associations between BMI and levels of asthma severity, asthma control, and asthma-related quality of life. A total of 382 adult asthma patients underwent demographic and medical history interviews on the day of their clinic visit. ⋯ There was no relationship between BMI and asthma severity when controlling for age and sex. Patients with higher BMI scores had higher ACQ and lower AQLQ scores, independent of age, sex and asthma severity. Results identify higher BMI and obesity as potential behavioral factors related to worse asthma control and quality of life, but not asthma severity, and suggest important avenues for asthma management and control initiatives.