American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jun 2014
Outcomes and Statistical Power in Adult Critical Care Randomized Trials.
Intensive care unit (ICU)-based randomized clinical trials (RCTs) among adult critically ill patients commonly fail to detect treatment benefits. ⋯ ICU-based RCTs are commonly negative and powered to identify what appear to be unrealistic treatment effects, particularly when using mortality as the primary outcome. Additional concerns include a lack of standardized methods for assessing common outcomes, unclear justifications for statistical power calculations, insufficient patient accrual, and incorrect predictions of baseline event rates.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jun 2014
Observational StudyTHE NON-ALLERGIC ASTHMA OF OBESITY: A MATTER OF DISTAL LUNG COMPLIANCE.
The pathogenesis of asthma in obesity is poorly understood, but may be related to breathing at low lung volumes. ⋯ Weight loss decompresses the lung in both obese control subjects and patients with asthma, but the more pronounced effects of weight loss on lung elastance suggest that the distal lung is inherently more collapsible in people with asthma.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jun 2014
Endothelial progenitor cells and a SDF-1α analogue synergistically improve survival in sepsis.
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been associated with human sepsis but their role is incompletely understood. Stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α facilitates EPC recruitment and is elevated in murine sepsis models. Previous studies have demonstrated that the SDF-1α analog CTCE-0214 (CTCE) is beneficial in polymicrobial sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in mice. ⋯ EPCs and CTCE represent important potential therapeutic strategies in sepsis.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jun 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyRole of Sleep Apnea and CPAP therapy in the incidence of stroke or coronary heart disease in women.
It is unknown whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be a risk factor for incident cardiovascular events in women. ⋯ In women, untreated OSA is associated with increased incidence of serious cardiovascular outcomes, particularly incident stroke. Adequate CPAP treatment seems to reduce this risk.