Resp Res
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Health status measurement in COPD: the minimal clinically important difference of the clinical COPD questionnaire.
Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) questionnaires are being increasingly used in COPD clinical studies. The challenge facing investigators is to determine what change is significant, ie what is the minimal clinically important difference (MCID). This study aimed to identify the MCID for the clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ) in terms of patient referencing, criterion referencing, and by the standard error of measurement (SEM). ⋯ This investigation, which is the first to determine the MCID of a PRO questionnaire via more than one approach, indicates that the MCID of the CCQ total score is 0.4.
-
Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Can HRCT be used as a marker of airway remodelling in children with difficult asthma?
Whole airway wall thickening on high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is reported to parallel thickening of the bronchial epithelial reticular basement membrane (RBM) in adult asthmatics. A similar relationship in children with difficult asthma (DA), in whom RBM thickening is a known feature, may allow the use of HRCT as a non-invasive marker of airway remodelling. We evaluated this relationship in children with DA. ⋯ Although a relationship between RBM thickness and BWT on HRCT has been found in adults with asthma, this relationship does not appear to hold true in children with DA.
-
Inspiratory activity is a prerequisite for successful application of patient triggered ventilation such as proportional assist ventilation (PAV). It has recently been reported that surfactant instillation increases the activity of slowly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors (PSRs) followed by a shorter inspiratory time (Sindelar et al, J Appl Physiol, 2005 [Epub ahead of print]). Changes in lung mechanics, as observed in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome and after surfactant treatment, might therefore influence the inspiratory activity when applying PAV early after surfactant treatment. ⋯ PSR activity and the control of breathing are maintained during PAV in surfactant-depleted cats early after surfactant instillation, with a higher ventilatory response and a lower breathing effort than during CPAP.
-
Comparative Study
EM703 improves bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice by the inhibition of TGF-beta signaling in lung fibroblasts.
Fourteen-membered ring macrolides have been effective in reducing chronic airway inflammation and also preventing lung injury and fibrosis in bleomycin-challenged mice via anti-inflammatory effects. EM703 is a new derivative of erythromycin (EM) without the bactericidal effects. We investigated the anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects of EM703 in an experimental model of bleomycin-induced lung injury and subsequent fibrosis in mice. ⋯ These findings suggest that EM703 improves bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice by actions of anti-inflammation and regulation of TGF-beta signaling in lung fibroblasts.
-
Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Female smokers beyond the perimenopausal period are at increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Recent reports indicate that over the next decade rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in women will exceed those in men in the western world, though in most jurisdictions, women continue to smoke less compared with men. Whether female adult smokers are biologically more susceptible to COPD is unknown. This study reviewed the available evidence to determine whether female adult smokers have a faster decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) compared with male adult smokers and whether age modifies the relationship between cigarette smoke and lung function decline. ⋯ As female smokers age, they appear to experience an accelerated decline in FEV1% predicted compared with male smokers. Future research powered specifically on gender-related changes in lung function is needed to confirm these early findings.