MMW Fortschritte der Medizin
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The four classic techniques of a lung examination include inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. The appearance, pain location, type of percussion sound as well as the typical sounds noted during auscultation are indications of different diseases, for example, bronchial asthma, pulmonary emphysema, pleural effusion and pneumonia.
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Nocturnal breathing disorders are rather frequently observed in patients with left ventricular failure. When an obstructive sleep apnoea is present, nCPAP therapy is the preferred treatment method; the treatment probably also positively affects the left ventricular failure itself. Central sleep apnoea and in particular, the special form Cheyne-Stokes respiration have an unfavourable prognosis with increased mortality in patients with left ventricular failure. The indication for either nCPAP therapy or adaptive servoventilation cannot yet be regarded as verified and is the subject of ongoing clinical studies.
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Parasomnias are characterized by undesired behaviour (e.g. sleep-walk, teeth-grinding) or unpleasant experiential phenomenon (e.g. nightmares) during sleep. They are classified as arousal disorder, disturbances in the transitions between sleep states, REM-associated sleep disorders or as other parasomnias. In addition to general therapeutic measures to protect against self-inflicted and externally-inflicted injuries, different diagnostic and therapeutic options are available depending on the symptoms and the type of disorder present.