Resp Care
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Critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation are frequently subjected to long periods of physical inactivity, leading to skeletal muscle atrophy and muscle weakness. Disuse muscle atrophy is the result of complex mechanisms, including altered protein turnover and disturbed redox signaling. These ICU-acquired complications are associated with longer duration of mechanical ventilation, prolonged ICU and hospital stays, and poorer functional status at hospital discharge. ⋯ Physical rehabilitation, when started at the onset of mechanical ventilation, has been associated with shorter periods of mechanical ventilation, decreased ICU and hospital stay, and improved physical function at hospital discharge. This review summarizes the impact of both physical inactivity and mechanical ventilation on skeletal and diaphragmatic muscles structure and function. Also reviewed is the growing evidence demonstrating the feasibility and safety of early physical rehabilitation interventions for mechanically ventilated patients, as well as their benefit on patient outcomes.
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Clinical features of pandemic H1N1 have been derived from lab-confirmed, hospitalized, or critically ill subjects. This report describes the clinical features of H1N1 and their prevalence from non-confirmed subjects according to seroprevalence status in México. The objective was to determine the prevalence of these clinical features from non-confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 and to compare them according to seroprevalence status in northern Monterrey, México, during 2009, and to identify the predictive signs and symptoms; there have been no prior serologic studies in México. ⋯ One third of the seropositive subjects were asymptomatic, and few had an influenza-like illness. No difference was found in the symptom profiles of the seropositive and seronegative groups. No single symptom predicted seropositiveness. Large scale population studies are needed, especially in México, to characterize clinical syndromes.
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Many survivors of the tsunami that occurred following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, contracted a systemic disorder called "tsunami lung," a series of severe systemic infections following aspiration pneumonia caused by near drowning in the tsunami. Generally, the cause of aspiration pneumonia is polymicrobial, including fungi and aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, but Aspergillus infection is rarely reported. Here we report a case of tsunami lung complicated by disseminated aspergillosis, as diagnosed during autopsy.
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Spirometry before and after bronchodilator is performed to assess air flow-limitation reversibility. In patients with normal baseline spirometry the frequency of a positive bronchodilator response, as defined by American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society criteria, has not been described. ⋯ In our study population the frequency of a positive bronchodilator response in patients with normal baseline spirometry is 3.1%. None of the patients with a pre-bronchodilator FEV(1) > 100% of predicted and only 1.9% of patients with an FEV(1) between 90% and 100% of predicted responded. Bronchodilator testing can be omitted in patients with normal spirometry and an FEV(1) above 90% of predicted, as they have a low probability of a positive response.