Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Breathing Oxygen-Enriched Air on Exercise Performance in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Trial.
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience dyspnea and hypoxemia during exercise. ⋯ In COPD patients without resting hypoxemia, breathing oxygen-enriched air improves exercise performance. This relates to a higher arterial oxygen saturation promoting oxygen availability to muscle and cerebral tissue and an enhanced ventilatory efficiency. COPD patients may benefit from oxygen therapy during exercise training.
-
Practice Guideline
Sleep Breathing Disorders in the COVID-19 Era: Italian Thoracic Society Organizational Models for a Correct Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment.
The attenuation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, at least in Italy, allows a gradual resumption of diagnostic and therapeutic activities for sleep respiratory disorders. The knowledge on this new disorder is growing fast, but our experience is still limited and when a physician cannot rely on evidence-based medicine, the experience of his peers can support the decision-making and operational process of reopening sleep laboratories. The aim of this paper is to focus on the safety of patients and operators accessing hospitals and the practice of diagnosing and treating sleep-related respiratory disorders. ⋯ The follow-up phase can again be performed mainly by telemedicine both for problem solving and the collection of data. Public access to hospital should be minimized and granted to patients only. Constant monitoring of institutional communications will help in implementing the necessary recommendations.
-
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a potentially fatal disease that is of great global public health concern. ⋯ In our survey some major topics, such as the role of non-invasive respiratory support and drug treatments, show disagreement between experts, likely reflecting the absence of high-quality evidence studies. Considering the significant respiratory sequelae reported following COVID-19, proper respiratory and physical therapy programs should be promptly made available.
-
Observational Study
Characteristics of Pulmonary Auscultation in Patients with 2019 Novel Coronavirus in China.
Effective auscultations are often hard to implement in isolation wards. To date, little is known about the characteristics of pulmonary auscultation in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia. ⋯ The abnormal breath sounds in COVID-19 pneumonia had some consistent distributive characteristics and to some extent correlated with the radiologic features. Such evidence suggests that electronic auscultation is useful to aid diagnosis and timely management of the disease. Further studies are indicated to validate the accuracy and potential clinical benefit of auscultation in detecting pulmonary abnormalities in COVID-19 infection.
-
Practice Guideline
Position Paper for the State-of-the-Art Application of Respiratory Support in Patients with COVID-19.
Against the background of the pandemic caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the German Respiratory Society has appointed experts to develop therapy strategies for COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). Here we present key position statements including observations about the pathophysiology of (ARF). In terms of the pathophysiology of pulmonary infection with SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 can be divided into 3 phases. ⋯ Under CPAP/NIV, a patient can deteriorate rapidly. For this reason, continuous monitoring and readiness for intubation are to be ensured at all times. If the ARF progresses under CPAP/NIV, intubation should be implemented without delay in patients who do not have a "do not intubate" order.