BMC pulmonary medicine
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2012
Prevalence and correlations with depression, anxiety, and other features in outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China: a cross-sectional case control study.
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often experience depression and anxiety, but little information is available regarding Chinese patients with these conditions. The present study assessed depression and anxiety in Chinese patients with COPD. ⋯ This study confirmed the high prevalence of anxiety and depression in Chinese outpatients with COPD. Patients with COPD who had anxiety and/or depression had a poorer health-related quality of life.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialDevelopment, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a new out-patient Breathlessness Support Service: study protocol of a phase III fast-track randomised controlled trial.
Breathlessness is a common and distressing symptom affecting many patients with advanced disease both from malignant and non-malignant origin. A combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures is necessary to treat this symptom successfully. Breathlessness services in various compositions aim to provide comprehensive care for patients and their carers by a multiprofessional team but their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness have not yet been proven. The Breathlessness Support Service (BSS) is a newly created multiprofessional and interdisciplinary outpatient service at a large university hospital in South East London. The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of this multidisciplinary out-patient BSS for the palliation of breathlessness, in advanced malignant and non-malignant disease. ⋯ Breathlessness services aim to meet the needs of patients suffering from this complex and burdensome symptom and their carers. The newly created BSS is different to other current services as it is run in close collaboration of palliative medicine and respiratory medicine to optimise medical care of patients. It also involves professionals from various medical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social work background.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2012
Early intravenous unfractionated heparin and outcome in acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a retrospective propensity matched cohort study.
Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by a pro-coagulant state. Heparin is an anticoagulant with anti-inflammatory properties. Unfractionated heparin has been found to be protective in experimental models of ALI. We hypothesized that an intravenous therapeutic dose of unfractionated heparin would favorably influence outcome of critically ill patients diagnosed with ALI. ⋯ Administration of therapeutic doses of intravenous unfractionated heparin was not associated with reduced mortality in critically ill patients diagnosed with ALI. Heparin treatment did not increase transfusion requirements. These results may help in the design of prospective trials evaluating the use of heparin as adjunctive treatment for ALI.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2012
Meta AnalysisEfficacy of once-daily indacaterol 75 μg relative to alternative bronchodilators in COPD: a study level and a patient level network meta-analysis.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the comparative efficacy of indacaterol 75 μg once daily (OD), tiotropium 18 μg OD, salmeterol 50 μg twice daily (BID), formoterol 12 μg BID, and placebo for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) based on individual patient data (IPD) from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the indacaterol trial program and aggregate data (AD) identified from a systematic review of RCTs. ⋯ Based on a synthesis of currently available AD RCT evidence as well as an IPD network meta-analysis of six RCTs, indacaterol 75 μg is expected to be at least as efficacious as formoterol and comparable to tiotropium and salmeterol regarding FEV1. Furthermore, indacaterol 75 μg shows comparable level of improvement in health-related quality of life to tiotropium, salmeterol, and formoterol, as measured by the SGRQ.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyEvaluation of the effectiveness of manual chest physiotherapy techniques on quality of life at six months post exacerbation of COPD (MATREX): a randomised controlled equivalence trial.
Manual chest physiotherapy (MCP) techniques involving chest percussion, vibration, and shaking have long been used in the treatment of respiratory conditions. However, methodological limitations in existing research have led to a state of clinical equipoise with respect to this treatment. Thus, for patients hospitalised with an exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), clinical preference tends to dictate whether MCP is given to assist with sputum clearance. We standardised the delivery of MCP and assessed its effectiveness on disease-specific quality of life. ⋯ These data do not lend support to the routine use of MCP in the management of acute exacerbation of COPD. However, this does not mean that MCP is of no therapeutic value to COPD patients in specific circumstances.