BMC pulmonary medicine
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Dec 2014
Occupational exposures, smoking and airway inflammation in refractory asthma.
The influence of occupation and ex/passive smoking on inflammatory phenotype is not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between occupation, past smoking and current passive smoking and airway inflammation in a population of adults with refractory asthma. ⋯ Sputum neutrophils are elevated in refractory asthma with exposure to occupational asthmagens. In addition to older age, exposure to both environmental and occupational particulate matter may contribute to the presence of neutrophilic asthma. This may help explain asthma heterogeneity and geographical variations in airway inflammatory phenotypes in asthma.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Dec 2014
Distinct compartmentalization of SP-A and SP-D in the vasculature and lungs of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Surfactant proteins SP-A and SP-D are useful biomarkers in diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Despite their high structural homology, their serum concentrations often vary in IPF patients. This retrospective study aimed to investigate distinct compartmentalization of SP-A and SP-D in the vasculature and lungs by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)/serum analysis, hydrophilicity and immunohistochemistry. ⋯ The current study investigated distinct compartmentalization of SP-A and SP-D in the vasculature and lungs. Our results suggest that serum levels of SP-D could reflect pathological changes of the IPF lungs more incisively than those of SP-A.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Dec 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyNon-invasive mechanical ventilation in patients with diffuse interstitial lung diseases.
To evaluate noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in diffuse interstitial lung diseases (DILD) patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) according to baseline radiological patterns and the etiology of ARF. ⋯ NIV treatment should be individualized in DILD patients with ARF according to the etiology, but not the baseline radiological pattern, in order to improve oxygenation.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Dec 2014
Validation of the new COPD assessment test translated into Thai in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The COPD Assessment Test (CAT™) is a new questionnaire that has been developed recently for measuring the COPD patient's health status. It is known to have a good correlation with disease specific health status measured by St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). For the wider application in clinical practice, it has been validated in many countries. We evaluated the reliability and validity of the translated CAT questionnaire for Thai COPD patients. ⋯ The official Thai CAT questionnaire has an acceptable reliability and validity. It can be expected to serve as a short and simple tool for assessment of the health status of Thai COPD patients.