Chest
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Baseline Symptom Score Impact on Benefits of Glycopyrrolate/Formoterol MDI in COPD.
The clinical severity of COPD is currently categorized by symptom burden and exacerbation risk. Previous 24-week phase III trials (NCT01854645 and NCT01854658) that demonstrated better improvement of lung function with glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate (GFF) metered dose inhaler (MDI) (an MDI fixed-dose of GFF 18/9.6 μg) over individual monocomponent MDIs included a cross-section of patients with moderate to very severe airflow limitation and a broad range of COPD symptoms. ⋯ Beneficial effects of GFF MDI on health status, rescue medication use, and exacerbation risk in symptomatic patients with COPD increased as a function of baseline symptom burden, whereas lung function benefits were independent. These data suggest a greater clinical benefit from dual bronchodilators in symptomatic patients than in patients without symptoms.
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common type of interstitial pneumonia but remains a disease with a poor outcome. Two drugs, pirfenidone and nintedanib, have shown promising results at stalling disease progression; however, the interplay of sleep disruption or sleep disorders overall and in relation to medication effectiveness remains understudied. In the past, there was limited interest in the role of sleep in patients with IPF. ⋯ There also is evidence that OSA has an increased prevalence in these patients, playing an important role in the already worse sleep quality related to the disease itself. The focus of this review is not only to present current data related to sleep in patients with IPF but also to point out that therapy for sleep problems and OSA is likely to improve sleep and life quality as well as disease outcome. The main priority remains to increase awareness among treating physicians about early diagnosis of OSA in patients with IPF and to emphasize the need for intense future research, especially on the role of intermittent hypoxia superimposed on chronic hypoxia during sleep in patients with IPF.
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High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is a unique mode of mechanical ventilation that uses nonconventional gas exchange mechanisms to deliver ventilation at very low tidal volumes and high frequencies. The properties of HFOV make it a potentially ideal mode to prevent ventilator-induced lung injury in patients with ARDS. ⋯ Careful attention should be paid to right ventricular function and lung stress when applying HFOV. This review discusses the physiological principles, clinical evidence, practical applications, and future prospects for the use of HFOV in patients with ARDS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on exacerbation number and severity in people with COPD: An historical cohort study using electronic health records.
In previous systematic reviews (predominantly of randomized controlled trials), pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has been shown to reduce hospital admissions for acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). However, findings have been less consistent for cohort studies. The goal of this study was to compare rates of hospitalized and general practice (GP)-treated AECOPD prior to and following PR. ⋯ This study found that < 10% of patients who were eligible for PR were actually referred. Patients who were eligible and referred for (but not necessarily completed) PR did not have fewer GP visits and hospitalizations for AECOPD in the year following PR compared with those not referred or compared with the year prior to PR.
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Review
Surgical Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea on Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Systematic Review.
OSA is an increasingly prevalent clinical problem with significant effects on quality of life and cardiovascular risk. Surgical therapy represents an important treatment for those unable to use positive airway pressure. This systematic review examines the available cardiovascular risk reduction data for the surgical treatment of OSA. ⋯ The published literature examining cardiovascular end points following surgical treatment of OSA is limited and generally of poor quality. However, available data from mainly small and observational studies suggest that surgical treatment of OSA may provide improvement in some cardiovascular end points. Larger, randomized, and prospective trials with more rigorous study designs are needed.