Thorax
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A study was undertaken to evaluate exacerbations and their impact on the health related quality of life (HRQL) of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ⋯ Frequent exacerbations significantly impair HRQL of patients with moderate COPD. A significant and independent effect of seasonality was also observed.
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A study was undertaken to validate the modified American Thoracic Society (ATS) rule and two British Thoracic Society (BTS) rules for the prediction of ICU admission and mortality of community acquired pneumonia and to provide a validation of these predictions on the basis of the pneumonia severity index (PSI). ⋯ This study confirms the power of the modified ATS rule to predict severe pneumonia in individual patients. It may be incorporated into current guidelines for the assessment of pneumonia severity. The CURB criteria may be used as an alternative tool to PSI for the detection of low risk patients.