International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2017
Multicenter Study Observational StudyMid-regional pro-adrenomedullin and copeptin to predict short-term prognosis of COPD exacerbations: a multicenter prospective blinded study.
Exacerbations of COPD (ECOPD) are a frequent cause of emergency room (ER) visits. Predictors of early outcome could help clinicians in orientation decisions. In the current study, we investigated whether mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) and copeptin, in addition to clinical evaluation, could predict short-term outcomes. ⋯ MR-proADM but not copeptin was significantly associated with outcomes at 30 days, even after adjustment for clinical risk category. Overall, MR-proADM, alone or combined with the clinical risk score, was a moderate strong predictor of short-term outcomes.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2017
Multicenter Study Observational StudyClinical implications of blood eosinophil count in patients with non-asthma-COPD overlap syndrome COPD.
Recent studies that assessed the relevance of the blood eosinophil count as a biomarker in patients with COPD may have overestimated it because they included patients with asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). We investigated the clinical implications of the blood eosinophil count in patients with non-ACOS COPD. ⋯ In patients with non-ACOS COPD, the blood eosinophil count and percent were not associated with FEV1 changes, quality of life (QoL), AECOPD frequency, or response to ICS. The clinical implication of the blood eosinophil count should not be overestimated in patients with non-ACOS COPD.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialIs cardiac autonomic modulation during upper limb isometric contraction and Valsalva maneuver impaired in COPD patients?
To evaluate the heart rate variability (HRV) indices and heart rate (HR) responses during isometric contraction (IC) and Valsalva maneuver (VM) in COPD patients. ⋯ COPD patients responded properly to the upper limb IC and to the VM; however, HR recovery during VM was impaired in these patients. The severity of the disease and MIP were associated with increased parasympathetic modulation and higher chronotropic response.
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It is increasingly acknowledged that delays in the diagnosis of chronic inflammatory lung conditions have hampered our understanding of pathogenesis and thus our ability to design efficacious therapies. This is particularly true for COPD, where most patients are diagnosed with moderate-to-severe airflow obstruction and little is known about the inflammatory processes present in early disease. There is great interest in developing screening tests that can identify those most at risk of developing COPD before airflow obstruction has developed for the purpose of research and clinical care. ⋯ As the equipment that delivers tests of small airways become more widely available, reference ranges are emerging and newer methodologies specifically seek to address variability and difficulty in test performance. Moreover, there is evidence that while tests of small airways may not be helpful across the full range of established disease severity, there may be specific groups (particularly those with early disease) where they might be informative. In this review, commonly utilized tests of small airways are critically appraised to highlight why these tests may be important, how they can be used and what knowledge gaps remain for their use in COPD.
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Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis · Jan 2017
Multicenter StudyA cross-sectional survey of night-time symptoms and impact of sleep disturbance on symptoms and health status in patients with COPD.
Sleep disturbance has been termed the forgotten dimension of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but it is clinically important as most patients are affected. This study examined the incremental burden of illness associated with sleep disturbance in COPD, with reference to health status and disease impact, and the degree of concordance between physicians and patients in reporting night-time COPD symptoms. ⋯ Night-time symptoms and sleep disturbance are common among patients with COPD, and sleep disturbance has a detrimental impact on COPD symptoms and health status.