Chest
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Long-term auto-servoventilation or constant positive pressure in heart failure and coexisting central with obstructive sleep apnea.
The coexistence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA) and Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) is common in patients with heart failure (HF). While CPAP improves CSA/CSR by about 50%, maximal suppression is crucial in improving clinical outcomes. Auto-servoventilation (ASV) effectively suppresses CSA/CSR in HF, but few trials have been performed in patients with coexisting OSA and CSA/CSR. Our objective was to evaluate a randomized, controlled trial to compare the efficacy of ASV and CPAP in reducing breathing disturbances and improving cardiac parameters in patients with HF and coexisting sleep-disordered breathing. ⋯ ASV improved CSA/CSR and BNP over a 12-month period more effectively than CPAP.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The role of conventional bronchoscopy in the workup of suspicious CT scan screen-detected pulmonary nodules.
Up to 50% of the participants in CT scan lung cancer screening trials have at least one pulmonary nodule. To date, the role of conventional bronchoscopy in the workup of suspicious screen-detected pulmonary nodules is unknown. If a bronchoscopic evaluation could be eliminated, the cost-effectiveness of a screening program could be enhanced and the potential harms of bronchoscopy avoided. ⋯ Conventional white-light bronchoscopy should not be routinely recommended for patients with positive test results in a lung cancer screening program.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Questionnaires and pocket spirometers provide an alternative approach for COPD screening in the general population.
In response to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality statement questioning the usefulness of “screening spirometry,” the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the COPD Foundation held a consensus conference in June 2008 to establish a procedure to detect cases of COPD in the general population. Conference participants developed a three-stage approach, using a brief questionnaire, peak flow measurement with a pocket spirometer, and diagnostic quality spirometry. The overall objective of this study was to examine the usefulness of a simple questionnaire and peak flow measurement in screening for COPD in a self-selected population. We hypothesized that this combination would efficiently screen for clinically relevant COPD. ⋯ A staged approach to COPD screening in adults is useful for detecting clinically significant airflow obstruction in our study population.
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The epigenetic basis for human asthma is not well studied, particularly among older adults. This study investigated the methylation profiles in sputum DNA among older adults with asthma, using a population of smokers. ⋯ Asthma is associated with methylation of selected genes, such as protocadherin-20 gene, in sputum DNA. If future studies establish causality, novel demethylating interventions to prevent and treat asthma among older smokers may be possible.
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A previous study suggested a potential increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia with new use of long-acting β-agonists and ipratropium bromide in patients with COPD, although conclusions were limited by the small cohort size. ⋯ New use of short- and long-acting β-agonists may slightly increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmia in patients with COPD. It remains unclear whether ipratropium bromide also increases this risk, despite the use of a larger study population.