Thorax
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Evaluation of pulsed dose oxygen delivery during exercise in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Oxygen conserving devices may lead to substantial increases in the duration of oxygen provided. A study was undertaken to compare the performance of a pulsed dose oxygen delivery (PDOD) system with continuous flow oxygen or air during a maximal walking test. ⋯ These findings suggest that the pulsed dose oxygen conserving device was as effective as continuous flow oxygen in maintaining arterial oxygen saturation and that the use of this device was associated with similar improvements in exercise tolerance to patients taking continuous flow oxygen therapy.
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Severe chest pain is common in mesothelioma. Percutaneous cervical cordotomy, which interrupts the spinothalamic tract at the C1/C2 level causing contralateral loss of pain sensation, is particularly appropriate in mesothelioma as the tumour is unilateral and systemic analgesia may be ineffective and is limited by harmful side effects. ⋯ Percutaneous cervical cordotomy is successful in treating pain from mesothelioma. There was a low complication rate in this series. Referral to a unit experienced in cordotomy is recommended as soon as pain from chest wall invasion is suspected.
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The purpose of this study was to develop an externally controlled, constant paced field walking test to assess endurance capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There were four objectives: (1) to develop a protocol; (2) to compare treadmill and shuttle walk tests of endurance capacity; (3) to examine the repeatability of the endurance shuttle walk test; and (4) to compare the sensitivity to pulmonary rehabilitation of endurance and incremental shuttle walk tests. ⋯ The ESWT was simple to perform, acceptable to all patients, and exhibited good repeatability after one practice walk. The test showed major improvement following rehabilitation and was more sensitive to change than the field test of maximal capacity.