BMJ open respiratory research
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BMJ Open Respir Res · May 2021
Trending peripheral venous PCO2 in patients with respiratory failure using mathematically arterialised venous blood gas samples.
Trending venous blood gases (VBGs) has been suggested as an alternative to arterial blood gases (ABGs) in patients with respiratory failure, but there are limits to its utility. The aim of this study was to compare the trending of venous carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) (pCO2v) with mathematically arterialised pCO2 (pCO2ca) and to further evaluate whether pCO2ca follows change in arterial pCO2 (pCO2a) more accurately. ⋯ This study suggests that trending pCO2v is not an accurate way to trend pCO2a in patients with respiratory failure. ΔpCO2ca via vTAC trended differently to ΔpCO2v. Our data suggest pCO2ca more accurately trends pCO2a.
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BMJ Open Respir Res · Apr 2021
Trends in hospital admissions and mortality rates for asthma in Ecuador: a joinpoint regression analysis of data from 2000 to 2018.
Although asthma has emerged as an important public health problem over recent decades in Latin America, there are limited published data on national hospital admission and mortality rates for asthma from countries in the region. ⋯ Our analysis shows a temporal trend of reduction in rates of hospitalisations and deaths attributed to asthma between 2000 and 2018 in Ecuador, consistent with similar trends elsewhere in the Latin American region. Health registration systems in Latin America need to be improved to provide reliable data for future between and within country comparisons of trends in asthma hospitalisations and deaths.
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BMJ Open Respir Res · Mar 2021
Changes in central venous to arterial carbon dioxide gap (PCO2 gap) in response to acute changes in ventilation.
Early diagnosis of shock is a predetermining factor for a good prognosis in intensive care. An elevated central venous to arterial PCO2 difference (∆PCO2) over 0.8 kPa (6 mm Hg) is indicative of low blood flow states. Disturbances around the time of blood sampling could result in inaccurate calculations of ∆PCO2, thereby misrepresenting the patient status. This study aimed to determine the influences of acute changes in ventilation on ∆PCO2 and understand its clinical implications. ⋯ Disturbances around the time of blood sampling can rapidly affect the PCO2, leading to inaccurate calculations of the ∆PCO2, resulting in misinterpretation of patient status. Care should be taken when interpreting blood gases, if there is doubt as to the presence of acute and transient changes in ventilation.
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BMJ Open Respir Res · Jan 2021
Disinfection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from N95 respirators with ozone: a pilot study.
Personal protective equipment shortages require the reuse of N95 respirators. We sought the necessary conditions for ozone to disinfect N95 respirators for reuse and the effects of multiple cycles of exposure. ⋯ These results suggest that ozone is a feasible strategy to disinfect N95 respirators for reuse during this and future pandemics.
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BMJ Open Respir Res · Dec 2020
Observational StudyAnalyses of abdominal adiposity and metabolic syndrome as risk factors for respiratory distress in COVID-19.
Several characteristics of the metabolic syndrome, such as obesity and hypertension, have emerged as risk factors for a poor clinical outcome in COVID-19. However, most reports lack data on the metabolic syndrome itself. This study investigated prospectively the relationship between respiratory deterioration and the presence of metabolic syndrome or abdominal adiposity in patients with COVID-19. ⋯ This study shows that abdominal adiposity, and not the presence of metabolic syndrome, is associated with clinical deterioration in COVID-19. This prospective study provides further insight into the risk stratification of patients with COVID-19 based on a simple measurement as the waist and hip circumference.