Respiratory care
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Successful inhalation therapy depends on the ability of patients with COPD to properly use devices. We explored subjects' COPD knowledge, including education they receive from health care providers, treatment experiences, and practices with inhalation devices. ⋯ The survey showed differences between patients' beliefs and knowledge of COPD; the need for continuous education from health care providers, particularly on inhalation devices; and extensive use of pressurized metered-dose inhalers and dry-powder inhalers despite positive perceptions of SVNs.
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Sensitive flow or pressure triggers are usually applied to improve ventilator response time. Conversely, too sensitive triggers can incur risk of auto-triggering, a type of asynchrony in which a breath is triggered without inspiratory muscle activity. A frequent cause of auto-triggering is cardiogenic oscillations, characterized by cyclical variations in pressure and flow waveforms caused by cardiac contractions. Our goal was to test trigger performance and capacity to abolish auto-triggering in 5 different ICU ventilators using different simulated levels of cardiogenic oscillations. ⋯ More sensitive triggers led to faster ventilator response, but also to more frequent auto-triggering. To avoid auto-triggering, less sensitive triggers were required, with consequent slower trigger response. To compare trigger performance in a scenario that more closely represents clinical practice, evaluation of the tradeoff between time delay and frequency of auto-triggering should be considered.
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The use of noninvasive ventilation in patients with left-ventricular dysfunction may increase cardiac performance by decreasing inspiratory effort and left-ventricular afterload. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the acute effects of noninvasive ventilation on central-venous oxygen saturation (Scv̄O2 ) and blood lactate in subjects with left-ventricular dysfunction during the early postoperative phase of coronary artery bypass grafting. ⋯ The acute application of noninvasive ventilation improved Scv̄O2 and decreased the blood lactate in subjects with left-ventricular dysfunction during the early postoperative phase after coronary artery bypass grafting. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT02767687.).
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COPD guidelines advise on inhaled medication use, yet no advice is offered on when to use and which type of patient could benefit from a specific delivery device. We investigated pulmonologists' perception of their knowledge and practices with delivery devices for COPD management. ⋯ Most respondents were confident in their knowledge about treating COPD. Fewer respondents were confident about the use and maintenance of inhalation devices, and most respondents desired to learn more about inhalation devices.
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Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are battery-operated devices used to inhale vaporized or aerosolized nicotine. There is increasing research uncovering negative health effects of these devices. Less is known about the social and behavioral aspects among college students. ⋯ ENDS are not commonly used as a quit tool among college students, but rather as a secondary source of nicotine, most commonly in current smokers.