Respiratory care
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Review
Pulmonary rehabilitation for mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a 1 systematic review.
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is effective in improving exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD. Quadriceps strength and HRQOL can be impaired in patients with mild COPD, therefore, patients at this grade may already benefit from PR. However, the impact of PR in patients with mild COPD remains unestablished. Thus, this systematic review assessed the impact of PR on exercise capacity, HRQOL, health-care resource use and lung function in patients with mild COPD. ⋯ Most of the PR programs had significant positive effects on exercise capacity and HRQOL in patients with mild COPD; however, their effects on health-care resource use and lung function were inconclusive. This systematic review suggests that patients with mild COPD may benefit from PR; however, insufficient evidence is still available. Studies with robust designs and with longer follow-up times should be conducted.
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Fundamental to respiratory care practice are airway management, noninvasive monitoring, and invasive mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this paper is to review the recent literature related to these topics in a manner that is most likely to have interest to the readers of Respiratory Care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
High-Flow Nasal Oxygen Cannula versus Conventional Oxygen Therapy After Endotracheal Extubation: A Randomized Cross Over Physiologic Study.
Compare the short-term benefit of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) with non-rebreathing mask in terms of change in dyspnea, physiologic variables, and patient comfort in subjects after endotracheal extubation. ⋯ HFNC can improve dyspnea and physiologic parameters, including breathing frequency and heart rate, in extubated subjects compared with conventional oxygen therapy. This device may have a potential role for use after endotracheal extubation.
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This study aims to evaluate bronchial thickness via thorax high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in subjects with mild intermittent asthma in comparison with healthy control subjects. ⋯ Our findings revealed an increase in bronchial wall thickness in peripheral airways in subjects with mild intermittent asthma regardless of the duration of asthma. This may indicate a need to also administer anti-inflammatory or bronchodilator therapy, which is effective in peripheral airways during the early period of the disease.