BMC pulmonary medicine
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyDaily activity during stability and exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
During most COPD exacerbations, patients continue to live in the community but there is little information on changes in activity during exacerbations due to the difficulties of obtaining recent, prospective baseline data. ⋯ COPD exacerbations reduced physical activity and frequent exacerbations accelerate decline in activity over time.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2014
Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: characterization and risk factors.
Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at increased risk of infection by P. aeruginosa. The specific role of bronchiectasis in both infection and chronic colonization by this microorganism in COPD, however, remains ill defined.To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for P. aeruginosa recovery from sputum in outpatients with severe COPD, characterizing P. aeruginosa isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and focusing on the influence of bronchiectasis on chronic colonization in these patients. ⋯ The main risk factors for P. aeruginosa isolation in severe COPD were the extent of bronchiectasis and exposure to antibiotics. Over 10% of these patients fulfilled criteria for chronic colonization by P. aeruginosa and showed clonal persistence, independently of the presence of bronchiectasis.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyComparison of cardiovascular co-morbidities and CPAP use in patients with positional and non-positional mild obstructive sleep apnea.
This retrospective cohort study aimed to determine if there are differences in cardiovascular co-morbidities, blood pressure (BP) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) use between patients with positional-dependent and nonpositional-dependent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). ⋯ This study found that positional mild OSA had less cardiovascular co-morbidities compared with subjects with positional severe OSA. Independent of posture, CPAP acceptance in patients with mild OSA was low, but CPAP compliance was similar in CPAP acceptors regardless of posture dependency of OSA. Since there are increasing evidences of greater cardiovascular risk for untreated mild OSA, improving CPAP acceptance among mild OSA patients may be clinically important regardless of posture dependency.
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BMC pulmonary medicine · Jan 2014
Significance of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in chronic eosinophilic pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study.
Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) is characterized by chronic eosinophilic infiltration of the lung. It is dramatically responsive to corticosteroid treatment, but symptoms and radiopacities recur frequently after tapering or discontinuing the medication. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a well-known noninvasive marker of eosinophilic airway inflammation. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the relationships of FeNO with peripheral eosinophilia and the clinical state of CEP and its validity for predicting exacerbation of CEP. ⋯ FeNO may be useful for monitoring eosinophilic parenchymal inflammation and determining the appropriate corticosteroid dose in CEP.