Articles: chronic.
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Venous leg ulceration is associated with pain and poor health-related quality of life (HRQL). The purpose of this study was to identify demographic and clinical characteristics associated with pain and decreased HRQL in patients with active venous ulcers. ⋯ Research is needed to test strategies to reduce pain and possibly improve HRQL in high risk groups.
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Multidiscip Resp Med · Mar 2013
Use of positive expiratory pressure during six minute walk test: results in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is widely used because it is both simple and reliable as a measure of exercise capacity. Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) usually show a limited capacity to perform exercise. ⋯ There are few studies demonstrating that PEP devices enhance exercise capacity in COPD patients. Our results has been obtained using only a low positive expiratory pressure (5 cmH2O). In our opinion the strength of this study is the simplicity and the lower cost when compared to other devices and approaches. The study was registered as Chi CTR-ORC-12002173 at http://www.chictr.org.
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Cefepime, a broad spectrum antibiotic, is commonly prescribed in intensive care units (ICU) and may be an overlooked cause of neurologic symptoms such as encephalopathy, myoclonus, seizures, and coma. We aimed to characterize cefepime neurotoxicity in the ICU. ⋯ Critically ill patients with chronic kidney disease are particularly susceptible to cefepime neurotoxicity. Myoclonus and impaired consciousness are the predominant clinical manifestations. Neurotoxic symptoms occur more often when the cefepime dose is not adjusted for renal function, but can still occur despite those modifications.