Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Therapy with proton-pump inhibitors for gastroesophageal reflux disease does not reduce the risk for severe exacerbations in COPD.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms are associated with a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. We hypothesize that treatment with proton pump inhibitors reduces the risk of exacerbation in patients with stable COPD. ⋯ These findings suggest that patients with stable COPD receiving acid-suppressive therapy with proton pump inhibitors remain at high risk of frequent and severe exacerbations.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Efficacy and tolerability of budesonide/formoterol added to tiotropium compared with tiotropium alone in patients with severe or very severe COPD: A randomized, multicentre study in East Asia.
Triple combination therapy with tiotropium plus budesonide/formoterol has improved lung function and reduced exacerbation risk in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Western countries, but no such data exist for East Asian patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of adding budesonide/formoterol to tiotropium compared with tiotropium alone in East Asian patients with severe/very severe COPD. ⋯ NCT01397890 at Clinicaltrials.gov.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Accuracy of PaO2 /FiO2 calculated from SpO2 for severity assessment in ED patients with pneumonia.
Assessment of oxygenation in patients with community-acquired pneumonia is critical for treatment. The accuracy of percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO2 ) determined by pulse oximetry is uncertain, and it has limited value in patients receiving supplemental oxygen. We hypothesized that calculation of partial arterial oxygen concentration/inspired oxygen faction (PaO2 /FiO2 ) from SpO2 by the Ellis or Rice equations might adequately correlate with PaO2 /FiO2 measured by arterial blood gases. ⋯ The Ellis equation was more accurate than the Rice equation for estimating PaO2 /FiO2 , especially at higher levels of P/F ratio. Estimation of PaO2 /FiO2 from SpO2 is accurate enough for initial oxygenation assessment. Ellis and Rice equations could misclassify 20% and 30% of patients, respectively, at higher levels of PaO2 /FiO2 . For patients with abnormal oxygenation falling near thresholds for clinical decision making, arterial blood gas measurement preferably on room air is more accurate.
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Multicenter Study
Risk factors and antibiotic therapy in P. aeruginosa community-acquired pneumonia.
Current guidelines recommend empirical treatment against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients with specific risk factors. However, evidence to support these recommendations is limited. We evaluate the risk factors and the impact of antimicrobial therapy in patients hospitalized with CAP due to P. aeruginosa. ⋯ Risk factor recommended by current guidelines only detect one third of the patients admitted with CAP due to P. aeruginosa. Risk factors did not define the whole benefit observed due to empirical therapy covering P. aeruginosa.
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Little published data exist regarding the learning curve for endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). We sought to assess the improvement in skill as trainees learned EBUS-TBNA in a clinical setting. ⋯ Significant variation is seen in the EBUS-TBNA learning curves of individual IP fellows and for individual procedure components, with ongoing improvement in EBUS-TBNA skill even after 200 clinical cases. These results highlight the need for validated, objective measures of individual competence, and can assist training programmes in ensuring adequate procedure volumes required for a majority of trainees to successfully complete these assessments.