Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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Water is the main constituent of mucus, and its concentration is likely to be important in all aspects of mucus function, including ciliary clearance. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of water content and osmolality of the mucus on mucociliary transportability. ⋯ These results suggest that the osmolality of sputum exerts a greater influence on mucociliary clearance than its viscoelastic properties.
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The aim of this study was to determine prognostic factors for outcome in patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). LRTI are an heterogeneous group of disorders, including acute bronchitis, pneumonia, superinfection of chronic bronchitis and influenza. ⋯ LRTI remain a widespread problem and have a significant impact on primary healthcare resources. The great variability seen in rates of hospital admission and lengths of stay in part reflects uncertainty among physicians in assessing the severity of the illness. According to our data, PaO2 and heart rate were most closely associated with patient death and are readily defined and available at presentation.
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China has the largest production and consumption of tobacco worldwide. It has witnessed a dramatic increase in tobacco consumption over the past two decades, with more than 34.8 million cartons of cigarettes being produced and 34.7 million sold annually. Approximately 67% of males and 4% of females aged over 15 years in China are smokers, and the total of over 320 million Chinese smokers represents about one-third of all smokers worldwide. ⋯ In future, the emphasis of smoking control should be directed at restraining teenagers and adolescents from smoking. Cigarette smoking has already caused significant ill-health to the Chinese population with over 1 million people dying each year of various disorders caused by smoking. However, the peak of smoking-induced diseases is still to come and therefore, it is very important to strengthen anti-smoking measures so as to have a far-reaching effect on the future health of the Chinese population.
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The major health impacts of smoking were established more than 40 years ago but Governments were slow to respond to the growing health epidemic. Despite laudable tobacco control strategies in many countries, globally deaths from smoking continue to rise and are forecast to reach 10 million a year by the 2030's. There is now general agreement that in order to substantially reduce smoking rates, governments need to adopt a comprehensive approach to tobacco control. ⋯ Given the enormous burden that smoking places on health services, governments in developed nations have generally responded by introducing a range of tobacco control measures. However, the picture is far from uniform and some of the best examples of strong, government-led action have occurred in less developed nations. Governments can learn much from these countries and, by supporting the impending global treaty on tobacco control, can help to reduce the smoking-related diseases and deaths of the future.
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Comparative Study
Outcome evaluation of early discharge from hospital with asthma.
The aim of the study was to determine whether it was safe to discharge children with asthma from hospital when stable on 3-hourly rather than 4-hourly doses of salbutamol. ⋯ From the medical viewpoint discharge when the child is stable on 3-hourly rather than 4-hourly doses appears safe. This can be expected to shorten length of stay by an average of 5.5 h (P < 0.001).