Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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Continuous partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2 ) assessment is essential for the success of mechanical ventilation (MV). Non-invasive end-tidal PCO2 (PetCO2 ) and transcutaneous PCO2 (PtcCO2 ) measurements serve as alternatives to the gold standard arterial PCO2 (PaCO2 ) method, but their eligibility in critical care is unclear. ⋯ Our data therefore support PtcCO2 as a suitable means for monitoring PCO2 in patients undergoing invasive MV. This is in contrast to PetCO2 , which clearly underestimated PaCO2 , especially in patients with COPD.
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Comparative Study
Cough is less common and less severe in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease compared to other fibrotic interstitial lung diseases.
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and characteristics of cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). ⋯ Cough is more frequent, more severe and more often productive in IPF and chronic HP compared to SSc-ILD, despite similar ILD severity in these cohorts. Cough severity is strongly and independently associated with dyspnoea and pulmonary function, and is a significant contributor to reduced quality of life in both IPF and SSc-ILD.
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Observational Study
Anaerobic antibiotic usage for pneumonia in the medical intensive care unit.
Pneumonia is a common admitting diagnosis in the intensive care unit (ICU). When aspiration is suspected, antibiotics to cover anaerobes are frequently used, but in the absence of clear risk factors, current guidelines have questioned their role. It is unknown how frequently these guidelines are followed. ⋯ For patients in the ICU admitted with pneumonia, there is a high occurrence of inappropriately prescribed anaerobic antibiotics, the use of which was associated with a longer ICU LOS.