Respiratory care
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Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has been widely used to treat acute respiratory failure in obese patients. Criteria that could help clinicians to decide whether they should continue to use NIV after such an initial episode remain unclear. Our retrospective study aims to analyze characteristics of subjects receiving long-term NIV after an initial hospitalization for acute respiratory failure. ⋯ Subjects with the most severe obesity or who experienced the most difficult initial ventilation were more likely to receive long-term NIV after initial management of acute respiratory failure in the ICU. In those subjects, long-term NIV at home was effective and well tolerated.
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Editorial Comparative Study
Spontaneous Breathing Trials and Conservative Sedation Practices Reduce Mechanical Ventilation Duration in Subjects With ARDS.
Spontaneous breathing trials (SBTs) and daily sedation interruptions (DSIs) reduce both the duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU length of stay (LOS). The impact of these practices in patients with ARDS has not previously been reported. We examined whether implementation of SBT/DSI protocols reduce duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU LOS in a retrospective group of subjects with ARDS at a large, urban, level-1 trauma center. ⋯ Evidenced-based protocols governing weaning and sedation practices were associated with both reduced mechanical ventilation duration and ICU LOS in subjects with ARDS. However, higher respiratory system compliance in the SBT/DSI cohort also contributed to these improved outcomes.
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In multidimensional Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) classification, the choice of the symptom assessment instrument (modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale [mMRC] or COPD assessment test [CAT]) can lead to a different distribution of patients in each quadrant. Considering that physical activities of daily living (PADL) is an important functional outcome in COPD, the objective of this study was to determine which symptom assessment instrument is more strongly associated with and differentiates better the PADL of patients with COPD. ⋯ The mMRC should be adopted as the classification criterion for symptom assessment in the GOLD ABCD system when focusing on PADL.
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Many recent studies indicate that prenatal maternal distress increases the risk of allergic diseases in children. The mechanisms that favor it are still unclear. ⋯ Maternal stress during pregnancy increases the risk of childhood wheezing. The effects of stress during pregnancy on the onset of allergic diseases in children should be developed and translated into early prevention strategies.
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A dilemma faced by health-care administrators is that need greatly outstrips capacity for diagnosing and treating sleep apnea, with such decisions carrying significant economic consequences. Our objective was to develop an economic model to estimate the relative costs of 4 approaches for diagnosis and initial treatment of sleep apnea. ⋯ Approaches to diagnosing and treating sleep apnea that emphasized early application of auto-PAP had lower per-patient costs.