Respiratory care
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To describe the self-expanding endobronchial occluder, as utilized in bronchoscopic lung volume reduction, with a 36 month follow-up procedure. ⋯ This preliminary study demonstrates early significant improvements in pulmonary function, 6-min walk distance, dyspnea score, BODE index, and quality of life after placement of the self-expanding endobronchial occluder in bronchoscopic lung volume reduction. Its placement also proved both easy and safe. However, the initial improvements were maintained long-term for only a minority of subjects.
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Comparative Study
Respiratory therapists' smoking cessation counseling practices: a comparison between 2005 and 2010.
We assessed whether smoking cessation counseling practices and related psychosocial characteristics among respiratory therapists (RTs) improved between 2005 and 2010. ⋯ Although the proportion of RTs trained in smoking cessation counseling during and after studies increased between 2005 and 2010 (from 3% to 14%, and from 17% to 29%, respectively), sustained efforts are needed to increase the number of trained RTs, so that this translates into positive observable changes in counseling practices.
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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common consequence of COPD. It has been speculated that patients showing serious PH and vascular remodeling without severe airway obstruction might benefit from vasoactive treatment. There is no approved drug available for COPD-induced PH. ⋯ The maximum gains in 6-min walk distance of the individual subjects were at the 9th, 13th, and 18th month. Oxygenation was stable, and no side effects were observed. We suggest from this experience that in clinical trials of PH in COPD, a follow-up of 16 weeks might cause underestimation of the treatment effects.
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Glomus tumor is a rare, predominantly benign, soft tissue tumor. The lower respiratory tract is an uncommon site of origin of glomus tumor, so endobronchial glomus tumor is extremely rare. ⋯ We report a middle-age female with endobronchial glomus tumor. This is 23rd case of reported pulmonary glomus tumor, to the best of our knowledge.
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It is difficult to exactly date the beginning of mechanical ventilation, but there are no doubts that noninvasive ventilation (NIV) was the first method of ventilatory support in clinical practice. The technique had a sudden increase in popularity, so that it is now considered, according to criteria of evidence-based medicine, the first-line treatment for an episode of acute respiratory failure in 4 pathologies (the Fabulous Four): COPD exacerbation, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, pulmonary infiltrates in immunocompromised patients, and in the weaning of extubated COPD patients. The so-called emerging applications are those for which the evidence has not achieved level A, mainly because the number or sample size of the published studies does not allow conclusive meta-analysis. ⋯ The low rate of NIV use in some hospitals relates to lack of knowledge about or experience with NIV, insufficient confidence in the technique, lack of NIV equipment, and inadequate funding. But NIV use has been increasing around the world, thanks partly to improved technologies. The skill and confidence of clinicians in NIV have improved with time and experience, but NIV is and should remain a team effort, rather than the property of a single local "champion," because, overall, NIV is beautiful!