Respiratory care
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The purpose of this study was to correlate airway parameters of COPD determined by low-dose high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) with pulmonary function testing (PFT) results. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that airway parameters in different COPD grades have no uniform tendency of correlation with PFT, but some HRCT parameters are correlated to some PFT parameters.
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Dynamic airway resistance from obstructive disease causes a concavity in the mid-expiratory portion of the spirometric flow-volume loop. We developed a simple model to measure the exponential decay in air flow during forced exhalation to quantify the extent of dynamic airway obstruction and facilitate the detection of obstructive airway diseases clinically. ⋯ Flow decay distinguished subjects with obstructive lung defects from healthy subjects. It is a straightforward representation of spirometry data that provides a reproducible index to quantify dynamic airway obstruction.
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High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is supposed to provide additional PEEP compared with conventional oxygen therapy. However, the exact determinants of this PEEP effect are unclear. We investigated the factors that might affect the PEEP and compared PEEP performance among 3 HFNC devices. ⋯ The mouth status, flow, and compliance were the 3 major influencing factors of PEEP effect, whereas performance of the 2 mechanical ventilators was slightly superior to that of the AIRVO 2 device at higher flows.
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Tracheostomy decannulation is accompanied by several clinical concerns due to air leakage. In this study, we introduced a novel tracheostoma closure device that facilitates the use of noninvasive ventilation, improvement of pulmonary function, and vocalization in the newly decannulated patient. The biosafety and feasibility of the device were evaluated in an animal model. ⋯ The study demonstrated that the tracheostoma closure device is feasible and biosafe in a porcine animal model, but the design and quality of the materials need to be improved before clinical trials.