Respiratory care
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Various aspects of medication adherence and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have been studied in subjects with COPD. Nevertheless, little is known about the association between these factors. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review of the published literature focusing on the relationship between medication adherence and HRQOL in COPD. ⋯ The relationship between medication adherence and HRQOL may be dual. The effect of medication adherence on HRQOL might be a consequence of the effectiveness of therapy and the negative effects (ie, side effects, daily life limitation of therapy, social stigma) that it can generate. HRQOL might also influence the patterns of patients' drug use, as an increased HRQOL might trigger non-adherence. The dynamics between adherence and HRQOL might differ over time, as the negative effects of medication non-adherence might become dominant in the long term.
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Several patient populations have been identified as high risk for extubation failure despite successful completion of a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT). Extubation failure and subsequent need for emergent re-intubation have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. ⋯ In addition, measurement of changes in central venous oxygen saturation and serum brain natriuretic peptide, and measurements of mitral inflow and annular velocity using bedside transthoracic echocardiography with tissue Doppler imaging may help guide the clinician in determining who and when to extubate and thus minimize the rate of extubation failure. Arterial blood gas analysis performed at the end of the SBT may help determine who will benefit from prophylactic use of noninvasive ventilatory support postextubation.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of an Automated Endotracheal Tube Cuff Controller During Simulated Mechanical Ventilation.
Maintaining endotracheal tube cuff pressure within a narrow range is an important factor in patient care. The goal of this study was to evaluate the IntelliCuff against the manual technique for maintaining cuff pressure during simulated mechanical ventilation with and without movement. ⋯ There was a clinically important drop in manually set cuff pressure during simulated mechanical ventilation in a stationary model and an even larger drop with movement, but this was significantly reduced by the IntelliCuff in both scenarios. Additionally, we observed that cuff pressure varied directly with inspiratory airway pressure for both techniques, leading to elevated average cuff pressures.
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Late inspiratory rise in airway pressure (LIRAP, Paw/ΔT) caused by inspiratory muscle relaxation or expiratory muscle contraction is frequently seen during pressure support ventilation (PSV), although the modulating factors are unknown. ⋯ Our simulation study reveals that both respiratory resistance and compliance may affect LIRAP. Except for under restrictive lung conditions, LIRAP is unlikely to be abolished by simply lowering flow cycle criteria when inspiratory effort is strong and relaxation time is rapid. LIRAP may be caused by expiratory muscle contraction when it occurs during inspiration.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
The Timed Inspiratory Effort: A Promising Index of Mechanical Ventilation Weaning for Patients With Neurologic or Neuromuscular Diseases.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the recently described timed inspiratory effort (TIE) index in comparison with 4 other previously reported indices as to the weaning outcome in patients with neurologic or neuromuscular disorders. ⋯ In patients with neurologic or neuromuscular impairment, the TIE index had a better performance than the best weaning indices used in clinical practice.