Annals of the American Thoracic Society
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Physical inactivity is associated with poor outcomes among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ During this 18-month trial among outpatients with COPD, a health coach-based behavioral intervention did not improve scores in the dyspnea domain of the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire or 6-minute-walk test distance. However, subgroup analyses suggested that there may be differential effects for specific outcomes that vary with severity of COPD. Specifically, benefits of this low-intensity intervention may be limited to 6-minute walk distance among patients with moderate spirometric impairment. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT1108991).
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Early rehabilitation in an intensive care unit is associated with improved physical functioning and patient outcomes. However, relatively few data have been reported on physical therapy interventions during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) for patients in intensive care units. ⋯ In this prospective observational study at one adult medical intensive care unit, we found that provision of bedside physical therapy while patients underwent CRRT is feasible, and appears safe.
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Multicenter Study
Vitamin D Concentrations and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in a Multicenter Cohort of Older Males.
Seasonal nadirs in 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations overlap with increased incidence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in winter. We hypothesized that, because lower 25(OH)D concentrations might lead to upper airway muscle dysfunction, low 25(OH)D would be associated with higher apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), a measure of OSA severity. ⋯ Among community-dwelling older men, the association between lower 25(OH)D and sleep apnea was largely explained by confounding by larger body mass index and neck circumference.
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In the majority of people with obstructive sleep apnea, the disorder remains undiagnosed. This may be partly a result of inadequate access to diagnostic sleep services. We thus hypothesized that even modest travel times to a sleep clinic may delay diagnosis and reduce detection of milder disease. ⋯ For reasons that remain to be determined, travel times are associated with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea at presentation to a sleep clinic. If the results can be verified at other centers, this may help guide the geographic distribution of sleep centers within a health care system.
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Fellows are expected to educate trainees, peers, and patients, during and long after fellowship. However, there has been relatively little emphasis on the acquisition of teaching skills in fellowship programs. Challenges to teaching by fellows during subspecialty training include demanding clinical duties, their limited knowledge base in the field, brief contact time with learners during consultative roles, and, for new fellows, personal unfamiliarity with the learners and hospital culture. ⋯ Further expansion of fellow-as-teacher programs will allow in-depth training for fellows seeking careers as medical educators. Even without such dedicated programs, emphasis on honing teaching skills during fellowship will telegraph the importance of teaching and help evolve divisional culture. Such efforts can have a positive impact on patients and learners, and enhance the teaching skills of future faculty.