Thorax
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A study was undertaken to test the long term performance of a small hand held spirometer for self-administered serial spirometric testing. ⋯ The small hand held turbine spirometers are suitable for long term patient-administered serial spirometric testing. The two year durability is acceptable and the long term reproducibility excellent.
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Community acquired pneumonia remains an important cause of hospital admission and carries an appreciable mortality. Criteria for the assessment of severity during admission have been developed by the British Thoracic Society (BTS). A study was performed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a severity rule based on a modification of the BTS prognostic rules applied on admission, to compare severity as assessed by medical staff with the modified rule, and to determine the microbiological cause of community acquired pneumonia in Christchurch. ⋯ The organisms responsible for community acquired pneumonia in Christchurch are similar to those reported from other centres except for Legionella species which were more common than in most studies. The modification of the BTS prognostic rules applied as a severity indicator at admission performed well and could be incorporated into management guidelines.
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Review Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Non-invasive ventilation for exacerbations of respiratory failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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A 25 year old man presented with dyspnoea and was found to have generalised, but predominantly pulmonary, lymphangiectasis without gastrointestinal symptoms. This is an unusual presentation of a disorder previously diagnosed only in childhood.