Respiratory care
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Chest wall mobility is often measured in clinical practice, but the correlations between chest wall mobility and respiratory muscle strength and lung volumes are unknown. We investigate the associations between chest wall mobility, axillary and thoracic cirtometry values, respiratory muscle strength (maximum inspiratory pressure and maximum expiratory pressure), and lung volumes (expiratory reserve volume, FEV(1), inspiratory capacity, FEV(1)/FVC), and the determinants of chest mobility in healthy subjects. ⋯ Chest mobility in healthy subjects is related to respiratory muscle strength and lung function; the higher the axillary cirtometry and thoracic cirtometry values, the greater the maximum inspiratory pressure, maximum expiratory pressure, and lung volumes in healthy subjects.
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The outcomes of patients admitted to a respiratory ICU (RICU) have been evaluated in the past, but no study has considered the influence of location prior to RICU admission. ⋯ The pathway of admission to a RICU is a determinant of outcome. Patients following a step-up pattern are more likely to die. Other major determinants of survival are age, nutritional status and female sex.
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Observational Study
Noninvasive ventilation for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure: intubation rate in an experienced unit.
Failure of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is common in patients with COPD admitted to the ICU for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF). We aimed to assess the rate of NIV failure and to identify early predictors of intubation under NIV in patients admitted for AHRF of all origins in an experienced unit. ⋯ With a nurse-driven NIV protocol, the intubation rate was reduced to 15% in patients receiving NIV for AHRF, with a mortality rate of only 5%. Whereas the risk of NIV failure is associated with hypoxemia and acidosis after initiation of NIV, it is also markedly influenced by the presence or absence of an underlying chronic respiratory disease.
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Intravenous magnesium sulfate (MgSO(4)) in children and adults with refractory acute asthma is effective, but therapy may be limited by systemic hypotension that might be avoided with the aerosol route. Inhaled MgSO(4) has a relatively high dose (volume) requirement. This, plus the use of inefficient delivery systems, may explain the lack of efficacy of inhaled MgSO(4) in some studies. An in vitro study suggested that the AeroNeb Go with the Idehaler Pocket and a face mask would deliver 16 mg/min of MgSO(4) to the respiratory system in older children, and approximately a fifth for toddlers, but no in vivo data exist. ⋯ These in vivo data confirm the deposition data predicted in the in vitro study, although caution should be used in extrapolating the results to children. This device appears suitable for the clinical trial of inhaled MgSO(4) in children and adults with refractory asthma.
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The value of impulse oscillometry (IOS) for bronchial provocation testing is poorly defined. We investigated the positive threshold derived from the parameters and diagnostic power of IOS for asthma with the leukotriene D(4) bronchial provocation test. ⋯ IOS during the leukotriene D(4) bronchial provocation test has a diagnostic power similar to that of spirometry. Either a 57% increase in Z(5) or a 63% increase in resonance frequency may be regarded as a surrogate of FEV(1) decrease to determine airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma.