BMC pulmonary medicine
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jul 2014
The Cohort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases (COCOA) study: design, rationale and methods.
This paper describes the background, aim, and design of a prospective birth-cohort study in Korea called the COhort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases (COCOA). COCOA objectives are to investigate the individual and interactive effects of genetics, perinatal environment, maternal lifestyle, and psychosocial stress of mother and child on pediatric susceptibility to allergic diseases. ⋯ The COCOA study will improve our understanding of how individual genetic or environmental risk factors influence susceptibility to allergic disease and how these variables interact to shape the phenotype of allergic diseases.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jul 2014
Treatment adherence and health outcomes in patients with bronchiectasis.
We aimed to determine adherence to inhaled antibiotics, other respiratory medicines and airway clearance and to determine the association between adherence to these treatments and health outcomes (pulmonary exacerbations, lung function and Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bronchiectasis [QOL-B]) in bronchiectasis after 12 months. ⋯ Treatment adherence is low in bronchiectasis and affects important health outcomes including pulmonary exacerbations. Adherence should be measured as part of bronchiectasis management and future research should evaluate bronchiectasis-specific adherence strategies.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jun 2014
An autopsy study of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema: correlations among clinical, radiological, and pathological features.
Clinical evaluation to differentiate the characteristic features of pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema is often difficult in patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE), but diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis is important for evaluating treatment options and the risk of acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia of such patients. As far as we know, it is the first report describing a correlation among clinical, radiological, and whole-lung pathological features in an autopsy cases of CPFE patients. ⋯ TWCLs were only observed in the CPFE patients. They were classified as lesions with coexistent fibrosing interstitial pneumonia and emphysema, and should be considered an important pathological and radiological feature of CPFE.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · May 2014
Comparative StudyMaximal exercise in obese patients with COPD: the role of fat free mass.
Obese patients (OB) with COPD may better tolerate exercise as compared to normal weight (NW) COPD patients, even if the reason for this is not yet fully understood. We investigated the interactions between obesity, lung hyperinflation, fat-free mass (FFM) and exercise capacity in COPD. ⋯ OB with COPD, as compared to NW patients matched for age, gender and airflow obstruction, had greater FFM and less resting lung hyperinflation and showed greater maximal exercise capacity. Pulmonary and non-pulmonary factors may explain the preservation of exercise tolerance in patients with COPD associated with obesity.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Apr 2014
Comparative StudyComparative chest computed tomography findings of non-tuberculous mycobacterial lung diseases and pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with acid fast bacilli smear-positive sputum.
Early diagnosis and treatment of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung diseases (NTM-LD) and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) are important clinical issues. The present study aimed to compare and identify the chest CT characteristics that help to distinguish NTM lung disease from PTB in patients with acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear-positive sputum. ⋯ The CT distinction between NTM-LD and PTB may help radiologists and physicians to know the most likely diagnoses in AFB-smear positive patients and avoid unnecessary adverse effects and the related costs of anti-TB drugs in endemic areas.