Respiratory care
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Current research regarding the effect of demographics and characteristics of respiratory therapy students on academic performance in respiratory therapy programs is lacking. Students pursuing higher education degrees have a variety of backgrounds, and understanding the factors that impact student academic performance may improve student learning and academic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of age, gender, prior military service, and class start time on student academic performance in respiratory care. ⋯ Age, gender, class start times, and prior military service had no statistically significant effect on academic performance in this study. There is a positive correlation between students' performance in RT 210 and RT 250 and students' grades in these courses and the secure NBRC SAE.
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High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is increasingly used for the management of respiratory failure. Settings include [Formula: see text], total gas flow, and temperature target. Resulting absolute humidity (AH) at the nasal cannula may affect clinical tolerance, and optimal settings with respect to hygrometry remain poorly documented. ⋯ When used according to manufacturer's recommendations and at normal ambient temperature, all the HFNC devices evaluated achieved satisfactory hygrometric output with respect to breathing comfort evaluated in healthy subjects (≥ 30 mg H2O/L). Substantial differences exist between devices, and optimal knowledge of their working principles is required as inappropriate usage may dramatically alter efficacy and clinical tolerance.
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Because impulse oscillometry (IOS) can detect changes in the small airways and is safer to perform during the COVID-19 pandemic than other pulmonary function tests, it may have value in investigating pulmonary sequelae in COVID-19 survivors. This study evaluated the performance of IOS in detecting lung abnormalities in COVID-19 survivors and investigated the associations of the findings with those of lung ultrasound (LUS) and spirometry. ⋯ In COVID-19 survivors, IOS detected changes even when spirometry was normal. In these individuals, IOS parameters were more strongly associated with abnormalities on LUS than with abnormalities on spirometry.