Objective: To assess the outcomes of a 6-month comprehensive multidisciplinary outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programme in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to age. Design: Prospective cohort study. Patients: A total of 140 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 3-4) admitted to ...

: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) can reduce lung function by entrapping lung parenchyma via a rind of tumor with or without concurrent effusion. Radical pleurectomy (RP) allows expansion of the trapped lung. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in pulmonary function and lung perfusion in patients undergoing ...

BACKGROUND: Cryoballoon ablation is a recently introduced technique to isolate the pulmonary veins in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). It can potentially reduce procedural times and serious complications associated with radiofrequency ablation. METHOD: We present data for 200 consecutive patients who underwent cryoballoon ablation for symptomatic AF with a mean ...

The aims of current study were: 1) to evaluate the incidence of lung atelectasis; and 2) to investigate whether or not the position of the endotracheal (ET) tube is associated with this complication. The medical records and chest roentgenograms of 183 pediatric patients who underwent living-donor liver transplantation were retrospectively ...

OBJECTIVES:: We evaluated quantitative acoustic measurements, as a simpler alternative to perfusion scintigraphy, for estimation of predicted postoperative (ppo) lung function after resection surgery in our patient population. METHODS:: Patients with lung cancer, considered as candidates for lung resection, were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent lung function testing ...

BACKGROUND: The continuing significant number of patients who die while on a waiting list for lung transplantation (LTx) has led several countries to modify their lung allocation rules in recent years. France has implemented high-emergency allocation rules to allow patients at imminent risk of death to undergo priority transplantation within ...

Knee arthroscopy is the most commonly performed orthopaedic procedure in the United States and is usually considered to be a low-risk procedure. The purposes of this study were to describe the incidence of symptomatic deep venous thrombosis, symptomatic pulmonary embolism, and mortality after elective knee arthroscopy performed without thromboembolic prophylaxis, ...

BACKGROUND: Randomized controlled trials have resulted in improved outcomes in pulmonary arterial hypertension; however, they are biased by stringent inclusion criteria, pre-specified patient sub-sets, and study durations. In addition, common practice is to start oral therapies ahead of the more potent and titratable prostanoid therapies, despite advanced disease states at ...

Increasing the threshold to define a positive D-dimer could reduce unnecessary computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) for a suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) but might increase rates of a missed PE and missed pneumonia, the most common non-thromboembolic diagnosis seen on CTPA. Measure the effect of doubling the standard D-dimer threshold ...

To explore the feasibility of computerised lung sound monitoring to evaluate secretion removal in intubated and mechanically ventilated adult patients. Before and after observational investigation. Intensive care unit. Fifteen intubated and mechanically ventilated adult patients receiving chest physiotherapy. Chest physiotherapy included combinations of standard closed airway suctioning, saline lavage, postural ...

OBJECTIVES: There is a need for standardization in systemic sclerosis (SSc) management. METHODS: SSc experts (n = 117) were sent 3 surveys to gain consensus for SSc management. RESULTS: First-line therapy for scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) was an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi). For SRC there were not many differences between ...

Patients undergoing pulmonary resection often suffer from a dry, hacking cough, which is usually refractory to opioid cough suppressors such as codeine. The cough is often painful and impairs the quality of life of the patients. The efficacy of an inhaled corticosteroid plus β2-agonist against the persistent cough after pulmonary ...

Introduction:  Induced sputum is a non-invasive method and a useful tool to evaluate inflammatory cells and mediators in the airway lumen in the setting of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD). However, the inhalation of hypertonic saline solution to induce sputum may cause a bronchoconstrictive response, so it ...

Smoke inhalation injury frequently increases the risk of pneumonia and mortality in burn patients. The pathophysiology of acute lung injury secondary to burn and smoke inhalation is well studied, but long-term pulmonary function, especially the process of lung tissue healing following burn and smoke inhalation, has not been fully investigated. ...

BACKGROUND: Limited data report thalidomide improves cutaneous sarcoidosis; no benefit has been reported for pulmonary localization. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate feasibility and efficacy of prolonged treatment with thalidomide for cutaneous sarcoidosis associated to pulmonary involvement in patients with resistance or contraindications to steroids. METHODS: Nineteen patients were treated with thalidomide for ...

OBJECTIVES: Methotrexate may cause severe adverse pulmonary side-effects in adults with rheumatoid arthritis. Our aim was to examine the long-term effect of MTX on lung function in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all 68 patients with JIA treated with MTX at our ...

PURPOSE: To compare lung and liver injury and laboratory results in haemorrhagic shock and sepsis models treated with combinations of lactated Ringer's solution (LR), 7.5% hypertonic saline (HTS), hydroxyethyl starch (HES), and pentoxifylline (PTX). METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-290g) were assigned randomly to one of four treatment groups (n=16 per ...

Background: Bronchoscopic thermal vapor ablation (BTVA) ablates emphysematous tissue through a localized inflammatory response followed by contractive fibrosis and tissue shrinkage leading to lung volume reduction that should not be influenced by collateral ventilation. Objectives: To determine the correlation of clinical data from a trial of BTVA with fissure integrity ...

Abstract Background: Inhaled interferon-γ aerosol (aINF-γ) may be effective treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We evaluated safety and delivery of aIFN-γ (100 μg 3 times/week) in 10 IPF patients using the I-neb (Philips Respironics, Parsippany, NJ). Methods: IFN-γ activity in the aerosol was confirmed by viral inhibition. Ten patients with ...

To describe a single center's experience with pediatric patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for respiratory failure due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) associated with pneumonia and to investigate the factors associated with mortality. Retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients receiving ECMO for severe ARDS associated with pneumonia ...

PURPOSE: Orientation of the trachea and tracheal tube below horizontal may prevent aspiration of oropharyngeal secretions into the lungs, which is a pivotal pathway in the pathogenesis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The incidence of VAP was evaluated in swine with orientation of trachea and tracheal tube above horizontal (model of ...

AimsIn patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) the pattern of atrial fibrillation (AF) episodes and the total AF burden, may be related to the efficacy of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). We evaluated (pre)-procedural factors explaining the long-term outcome after PVI, using a ring-shaped multielectrode ablation catheter [pulmonary vein ablation catheter ...

Persistence of hip dysplasia into adolescence and adulthood can lead to an abnormal gait, which would do harm to patients' physiological and psychological health. The aim of this study was to summarize our results of tibial lengthening for reconstruction of limb length discrepancy in Crowe Type IV developmental dysplasia of ...

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a risk factor for self-reported asthma and makes asthma management more difficult. The effects of bariatric surgery on asthma in severely obese subjects remain to be documented. METHODS: In this prospective study, 12 asthmatic patients with severe obesity were evaluated before, 6 and 12 months after bariatric ...

We reviewed data from all patients with a diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, according to American-European Consensus Conference criteria for ARDS) who were treated in our multidisciplinary department of intensive care between January 2006 and April 2009 (group B, n=210) and compared them with our previously reported data ...

The amount of enteral nutrition patients with acute lung injury need is unknown. To determine if initial lower-volume trophic enteral feeding would increase ventilator-free days and decrease gastrointestinal intolerances compared with initial full enteral feeding. The EDEN study, a randomized, open-label, multicenter trial conducted from January 2, 2008, through April ...

There is no recommended standard follow-up program after resection for lung cancer. Under these circumstances, each doctor establishes his or her own follow-up protocol. This questionnaire survey was conducted to grasp the current status of postoperative follow-up in Japan. The questionnaire survey was aimed at determining what examinations were performed ...

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a slowly progressive airways disorder characterized by not fully reversible airflow obstruction, often presenting exacerbations of respiratory symptoms requiring hospitalization. Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) has been shown to be an effective adjunct to standard medical therapy in the treatment of acute respiratory failure. Secondary pulmonary ...

BACKGROUND: Oral drugs have made the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) feasible in non-expert centers, which could delay patient access to prostanoid therapy. METHODS: Fifty-seven consecutive patients with precapillary PH received a prostanoid in our center. Data at prostanoid initiation included modality of center referral, medical history, New York Heart ...

Abstract: BACKGROUND:The aim of this study was to evaluate the lung-protective effect of combined remote ischemic pre- and post-conditioning (RIPC(pre) plus RIPC(post)) in patients undergoing complex valvular heart surgery. METHODS:This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind trial. Fifty-four patients were randomly allocated into the RIPC(pre) plus RIPC(post) group or Control ...

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a clinical syndrome with typical symptoms dyspnea and hemoptysis. DAH is a complication of specific diseases, in some cases with acute catastrophic hemoptysis, while other patients present low grade alveolar bleeding with a need of chronic transfusion as in pulmonary hemosiderosis. Current literature in the ...

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines aim to optimise chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis and treatment. However, little is known about the extent to which general practitioners' (GP) adherence to GOLD guidelines improves patient outcomes. In this questionnaire-based study, COPD patients were screened and enrolled; ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia seen in cardiovascular departments. Treatments include medical interventions and catheter ablation. Due to uncertainties in medical therapies for AF, and the need to continue sinus rhythm, ablation has been recently considered as a viable alternative. Many new ablation methods based on ...

Enhanced bleeding remains a serious problem after cardiac surgery, and fibrinolysis is often involved. We speculate that lower plasma concentrations of plasminogen activator inhibitor - 1 (PAI-1) preoperatively and tissue plasminogen activator/PAI-1 (t-PA/PAI-1) complex postoperatively might predispose for enhanced fibrinolysis and increased postoperative bleeding. Totally 88 adult patients (mean ...

A 67-year-old never-smoker was diagnosed with diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) and was started on 250 mg azithromycin twice weekly. Over a 16-month observation period, lung function was assessed monthly, including a dedicated small airways test, the multiple breath nitrogen washout (MBW) with indices S(cond) and S(acin) of ventilation heterogeneity at the ...

Abstract Objective: Methimazole (MMI) is used as a first-line antithyroid drug in children and adolescents with Graves' disease (GD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the initial dose of MMI and the clinical course of GD after treatment. Design: Retrospective and collaborative study. Setting: Nine ...

Lung function, acute pulmonary exacerbations (APE), and weight are the best clinical predictors of survival in cystic fibrosis (CF); however, underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Biomarkers of current disease state predictive of future outcomes might identify mechanisms and provide treatment targets, trial endpoints and objective clinical monitoring tools. Such CF-specific ...

Background: Airway complications remain a significant cause of morbidity after lung transplantation. The majority of the centres that have published their results have used metal stents. Objectives: We report the long-term outcome of silicone stenting and subsequent stent removal in lung transplant recipients with stenotic airway complications. Method: From 1990 ...

To evaluate the effectiveness of the prostatic urethral lift in relieving lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia. A total of 64 men, aged≥55 years, with moderate to severe symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia were treated and followed up at 6 Australian institutions. The treatment consisted of transurethral ...

Background. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most common complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc) with treatment ineffective. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this meta-analysis was to provide an estimate of the safety and efficacy profile of Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) or sodium (MMS) in SSc-ILD patients. Materials and Methods. All studies were ...

The purpose of this study was to compare phacoemulsification energy parameters during torsional phacoemulsification with or without the use of intelligent phacoemulsification (IP) software. One hundred and twenty-eight eyes with nuclear grades ranging from 1 to 5 were enrolled in this randomized prospective study. Operated eyes were divided into two ...

Clinical studies indicate the potential of bronchoscopic thermal vapor ablation to result in clinically relevant improvements in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with upper lobe-predominant emphysema. However, the mechanisms by which vapor ablation results in lung volume reduction are not fully known. This study determined the 3-month safety and ...

Background. Goal-directed fluid therapy (GDT) guided by functional parameters of preload, such as stroke volume variation (SVV), seems to optimize hemodynamics and possibly improves clinical outcome. However, this strategy is believed to be rather fluid aggressive, and, furthermore, during surgery requiring thoracotomy, the ability of SVV to predict volume responsiveness ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between multiple cryoprobes was investigated to determine whether they work in an additive or synergistic fashion in an in vivo animal model because 1.47 mm (17-gauge) cryoprobes have been introduced to the armamentarium for renal cryotherapy. METHODS: Laparoscopic-guided percutaneous cryoablation was performed in both renal ...

BACKGROUND: To investigate the safety and outcomes of off-label immunomodulator Mycobacterium w. (Mw), a TLR 9 antagonist in steroid-resistant idiopathic unilateral optic neuritis. METHODS: Case series. Eight patients with documented idiopathic unilateral optic neuritis who did not improve with methyl prednisolone followed by oral steroids as per the Optic Neuritis ...

(Full text is available at http://www.manu.edu.mk/prilozi). The fibrinopurulent phase of pleural empyema has very often been treated with thoracotomy and decortications. Material and methods: We analyzed the lung function of 19 surgically treated patients in the last 3 years. The lung function was followed up at least 6 months after ...

Pulmonary problems often occur in patients with early-onset scoliosis (EOS). However, lung function in patients with EOS after growing rod surgery has not been documented. The aim of this study was to investigate lung function after the treatment for EOS with growing rod and its possible correlative factors. Eight patients ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of transurethral resection in saline vaporization for symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction and the change in prostate volume. METHODS: A total of 106 patients with symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction underwent transurethral resection in saline vaporization. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated using the ...

Few and contrastingly data are available about use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Comparing the effects of the combination of pulmonary rehabilitation and OMT compared with pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with severely impaired COPD. Rehabilitative pulmonary department. Patients underwent exercise training, ...

PURPOSE: To quantify intrafraction prostate motion between patient groups treated with and without daily endorectal balloon (ERB) employed during prostate radiotherapy and establish the effectiveness of the ERB. METHODS: Real-time intrafraction prostate motion from 29 non-ERB (1,061 sessions) and 30 ERB (1,008 sessions) patients was evaluated based on three-dimensional (3D), ...