Respiratory care
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COPD and bronchiectasis frequently coexist, which creates an emerging phenotype with a worse prognosis. However, the impact of bronchiectasis on the natural history of COPD has not been fully evaluated and is still controversial. This meta-analysis was performed to clarify the associations of the presence of bronchiectasis with the prognosis and quality of life of patients with COPD. ⋯ This meta-analysis confirmed the significant associations of the presence of bronchiectasis with the natural history, disease course, and outcomes in COPD. The COPD-bronchiectasis phenotype had adverse effects on subjects' health condition and prognosis.
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Review Meta Analysis
Probiotics for the Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common and serious complication of mechanical ventilation. We conducted a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of probiotics for VAP prevention in patients who received mechanical ventilation. ⋯ The meta-analysis results indicated that the administration of probiotics significantly reduced the incidence of VAP. Furthermore, our findings need to be verified in large-scale, well-designed, randomized, multi-center trials.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effects of Inspiratory Muscle Training in Older Adults.
Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been widely applied to different populations, including the general population of older adults. In addition to increasing inspiratory muscle strength, other benefits of IMT in the health of this population have been reported. The primary aim of this study was to review the effects of IMT on the general parameters of health (eg, respiratory, functional, physical, and other variables) in older adults (≥ 60 y), and the secondary aim was to analyze the main IMT protocol used in the studies. ⋯ The reviewed studies revealed a positive trend for the effectiveness of IMT in improving inspiratory muscle performance in elderly subjects. More randomized studies are needed to evaluate other outcomes (eg, functional capacity, exercise capacity, cardiac autonomic control, quality of life, and others) to provide robust evidence that this training modality can promote improvements in health parameters in this population. In addition, the usual IMT prescription in this population is based on sets and repetitions, of mild to moderate intensity, performed on most days of the week, for ≥ 4 weeks.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effects of Home-Based Breathing Exercises in Subjects With COPD.
We sought to investigate the effects of home-based breathing exercises on pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, exercise capacity, dyspnea, and health-related quality of life in patients with COPD. ⋯ As an alternative method of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation program, breathing exercises can improve pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, exercise capacity, dyspnea, health-related quality of life in patients with COPD.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effect of High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy in Immunocompromised Subjects With Acute Respiratory Failure.
Various studies have been performed to examine the effect of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). However, the results were inconsistent. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of HFNC oxygen therapy in immunocompromised patients with ARF versus conventional oxygen therapy and noninvasive ventilation (NIV). ⋯ Our results suggest that HFNC may be a feasible alternative to NIV, with lower intubation rates and no increased risk for ICU-acquired infections compared to standard oxygen therapy. However, HFNC did not appear to reduce mortality in immunocompromised subjects with ARF compared with other noninvasive therapies. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials should be performed to confirm these findings.