Canadian respiratory journal : journal of the Canadian Thoracic Society
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Oxygen therapy can be life-saving for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is the backbone of any acute COPD treatment strategy. Although largely considered to be a benign drug, many publications have highlighted the need to accurately adjust oxygen delivery to avoid both hypoxemia and the problem of hyperoxia-induced hypercapnia. Recent clinical data have shown that the deleterious effects of excess oxygen treatment can not only alter carbon dioxide levels (which has been known for more than 60 years) but can also lead to an increase in mortality. ⋯ These closed-loop oxygen delivery systems have the potential to reduce medical error, improve morbidity and mortality, and reduce health care costs. Preliminary data in this field are promising and will require a significant amount of research in the coming years to determine the precise indications for these systems. The importance of appropriate oxygen dosing and the current literature regarding novel oxygen delivery systems are reviewed.
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Case Reports
Dyspnea, massive effusion and lytic rib lesion as initial presentation of multiple myeloma in a young man.
Multiple myeloma, a disorder commonly encountered in elderly patients, represents a malignant proliferation of plasma cells that primarily affects bone marrow. Pleural effusion as the presenting manifestation of the disease is uncommon. The authors report a case of multiple myeloma with unusual features presenting at a relatively young age with massive spontaneous hemothorax and multiple thoracic masses completely obscuring rib shadow on plain chest imaging. The patient demonstrated a good response to melphalan chemotherapy without recurrence of effusion or the need for additional chemical or surgical pleural interventions.
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Multicenter Study
Facilitators and solutions for practicing optimal guided asthma self-management: the physician perspective.
To identify key solutions that facilitate the prescription of long-term asthma controller and provision of written self-management plans by physicians. ⋯ Physicians proposed multiple facilitators and solutions to support optimal practice, leading to the development of a novel taxonomy. Key suggestions varied across physician specialties and behaviours sought, emphasizing the need to carefully select the most promising knowledge translation interventions.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of a novel method of teaching endobronchial ultrasound: physician- versus respiratory therapist-proctored simulation training.
Computer endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) simulators have been demonstrated to improve trainee procedural skills before attempting to perform EBUS procedures on patients. ⋯ Acquisition of basic EBUS technical skills can be achieved using computer EBUS simulation proctored by specially trained respiratory therapists or by an interventional respirologist. There appeared to be no significant advantage to having an interventional respirologist proctor the computer EBUS simulation.
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A review of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) claims in Ontario from 1998 to 2002 showed an unusual spike in the number of claims accepted for work-exacerbated asthma (WEA) in April 2001. ⋯ [corrected] The spike in accepted WEA claims in Ontario in April 2001 was temporally associated with a strike by Toronto District School Board cleaners, suggesting acute symptomatic effects of poor workplace (school) maintenance on asthmatic employees. The WSIB database was sufficiently sensitive to capture this phenomenon.