The clinical respiratory journal
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Comparative Study
Long-term effects of a preoperative smoking cessation programme.
Preoperative smoking intervention programmes reduce post-operative complications in smokers. Little is known about the long-term effect upon smoking cessation. ⋯ The intervention group had a significantly higher quit rate 1 year after a preoperative smoking cessation programme.
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Periodic exacerbations of symptoms are the major cause of morbidity, mortality and health care costs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dyspnea is the major factor affecting the comfort of patients in the exacerbation of COPD. In this study, we aimed to compare the value of forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV(1)) and inspiratory capacity (IC) measured before and after treatment in exacerbations and in the improvement in dyspnea. ⋯ We have shown a more dramatic improvement in IC compared with FEV(1) in patients treated as a result of acute exacerbation of COPD. These data suggest that IC may be more useful than FEV(1) during acute exacerbation of COPD. Moreover, IC better reflects the severity of dyspnea in these patients.
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Inflammation is an important constituent of the pathology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leading to alveolar destruction and airway remodelling. ⋯ These findings suggest that the measurement of plasma biomarkers, such as IL-8/TIMP-1, may aid to discriminate patients with COPD from smokers at lower risk of developing COPD.
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Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disorder of unknown aetiology, affecting young adults and frequently involving the lungs. ⋯ Recent technical developments have provided better tools, enabling detailed and more thorough analyses of the inflammatory process in sarcoidosis.