Respiratory care
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Ribavirin is an antiviral drug that can be administered by inhalation. Despite advancements in the oral delivery of this medication, there has been a renewed interested in delivering ribavirin via the pulmonary system. Although data are not conclusive that inhaled ribavirin improves outcomes, we set out to determine whether delivery by a newer generation nebulizer, the vibrating mesh micropump, was as effective as the recommended small-particle aerosol generator system. ⋯ The vibrating mesh micropump nebulizer may provide an effective alternative to the small-particle aerosol generator in administration of ribavirin using NaCl or sterile water, both on and off the ventilator. Further clinical studies are needed to compare efficacy.
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Mechanisms of incapacity and quality of life (QOL) of smokers with COPD and those free from COPD (non-COPD) are still unclear. The aims of this work were to compare the submaximal exercise, the QOL, and the blood and lung oxidative stress biomarker data of smokers without and with COPD. ⋯ Compared with the non-COPD group, the COPD group had a marked decrease in submaximal exercise data and in QOL score. Oxidative stress could be one explanation of incapacity and handicap observed in the COPD group.
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In 2009, researchers from Johns Hopkins University's Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality; public agencies, including the FDA; and private partners, including the Emergency Care Research Institute and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) Safety Intelligence Patient Safety Organization, sought to form a public-private partnership for the promotion of patient safety (P5S) to advance patient safety through voluntary partnerships. The study objective was to test the concept of the P5S to advance our understanding of safety issues related to ventilator events, to develop a common classification system for categorizing adverse events related to mechanical ventilators, and to perform a comparison of adverse events across different adverse event reporting systems. ⋯ Overall, we found that (1) through the development of a common taxonomy, adverse events from 3 reporting systems can be evaluated, (2) the types of events reported in each database were related to the purpose of the database and the source of the reports, resulting in significant differences in reported event categories across the 3 systems, and (3) a public-private collaboration for investigating ventilator-related adverse events under the P5S model is feasible.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Inspiratory Muscle Training in Subjects With Sarcoidosis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
Respiratory muscle weakness occurs in sarcoidosis and is related to decreased exercise capacity, greater fatigue, dyspnea, and lower quality of life in sarcoidosis patients. The effects of inspiratory muscle training in this population have not been comprehensively investigated so far. This study was planned to investigate the effects of inspiratory muscle training on exercise capacity, respiratory and peripheral muscle strength, pulmonary function and diffusing capacity, fatigue, dyspnea, depression, and quality of life in subjects with sarcoidosis. ⋯ Inspiratory muscle training improves functional and maximal exercise capacity and respiratory muscle strength and decreases severe fatigue and dyspnea perception in subjects with early stages of sarcoidosis. Inspiratory muscle training can be safely and effectively included in rehabilitation programs. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT02270333.).