Respiratory care
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Many studies have investigated COPD-linked comorbidities and their influence on associated outcomes, but the extent to which COPD is related to chronic renal failure is undetermined. The objective of this work was to assess the prevalence of chronic renal failure (overt or concealed) in a cohort with COPD compared with that of a control group, and to investigate the relationships of the clinical and functional data with the subjects' renal conditions. ⋯ Chronic renal failure should not be ignored or underestimated in patients with COPD because it frequently cannot be recognized based on serum creatinine because decreases in estimated glomerular filtration rate are more prevalent.
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The lung diffusion capacity (DLCO) determined by the single-breath technique greatly helps in the differential diagnosis and classification of severity of common lung diseases. However, widespread use of single-breath DLCO tests in Latin America has been limited, in part, by the lack of appropriate reference values. Our objective was to derive robust reference equations for single-breath DLCO from healthy Hispanic adults, using the most recent guidelines and taking into account altitude above sea level and hemoglobin. ⋯ We recommend these new single-breath DLCO reference equations to predict single-breath DLCO in Latin America performed with current instruments and procedures and including as a predictor altitude above sea level.