Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common preventable illness that carries a large global economic and social burden. The global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease (GOLD) guidelines has been utilized as a global strategy for the continued COPD diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. We aimed to determine if the adherence to the 2021 GOLD guideline directed management influenced outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective medical records review of adult patients with COPD, who received care in our office during the entire year of 2021...

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is characterized by a sudden worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms, which significantly contributes to hospitalizations related to COPD symptoms. Previous research has mainly focused on the correlation between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and COPD. However, there were few studies that investigated the short-term mortality rate of AECOPD patients with or without OSA. METHODS: Data for our research was taken from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Database IV...

Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a common cause for emergency department (ED) visits. Still, large scale studies that assess the management of AECOPD in the ED are limited. Our aim was to evaluate treatment characteristics of AE-COPD in the ED on a national scale. A prospective study as part of the COPD Israeli survey, conducted between 2017 and 2019, in 13 medical centers. Patients hospitalized with AECOPD were included and interviewed. Clinical data related to their ED and hospital stay were collected...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a widely prevalent disease with significant mortality and disability rates and has become the third leading cause of death globally. Patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) often substantially suffer deterioration and death. Therefore, COPD patients deserve special consideration regarding treatment in this fragile population for pre-clinical health management. Based on the above, this paper proposes an AECOPD prediction model based on the Auto-Metric Graph Neural Network (AMGNN) using inspiratory and expiratory chest low-dose CT images...

PURPOSE: Immunoglobulin replacement therapy is a standard treatment for patients with antibody production deficiencies, which is of interest in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This systematic review, registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021281118), assessed the current literature regarding immunoglobulin replacement therapy on COPD clinical outcomes in patients with low immunoglobulin G (IgG) serum concentrations. METHODS: Literature searches conducted from inception to August 23, 2021, in databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL...

β-blockers are a heterogeneous class, with individual agents distinguished by selectivity for β1 - vs. β2 - and α-adrenoceptors, presence or absence of partial agonist activity at one of more β-receptor subtype, presence or absence of additional vasodilatory properties, and lipophilicity, which determines the ease of entry the drug into the central nervous system. Cardioselectivity (β1 -adrenoceptor selectivity) helps to reduce the potential for adverse effects mediated by blockade of β2 -adrenoceptors outside the myocardium, such as cold extremities, erectile dysfunction, or exacerbation of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is closely associated with frailty, and prevention of acute exacerbations is important for disease management. Moreover, COPD patients with frailty experience a higher risk of acute exacerbations. However, the frailty instruments that can better predict acute exacerbations remain unclear. PURPOSE: (1) To explore the factors influencing frailty and acute exacerbations in stable COPD patients, and (2) quantify the ability of multidimensional frailty instruments to predict acute exacerbations within 1 year...

BACKGROUND: Patients having COPD share some factors, e.g., chronic hypoxemia, anemia of chronic disease and nicotine use, which are also the risk factors for RLS hence predispose them to experience RLS in higher then general population. There are limited studies with methodological constraints evaluating the prevalence and/or correlates of RLS among patients with COPD. METHODS: Consecutive adult patients of either gender, having stable COPD as per GOLD guidelines 2021, were assessed for RLS using IRLSSG (2014) criteria (excluding RLS mimics) and the severity of RLS was determined in participants having RLS...

INTRODUCTION: the present study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQL) and identify the factors associated with poor quality of life, among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. METHODS: we conducted a cross-sectional study at Jamot Hospital and Polymere Medical Center, Yaoundé, from February 1 to June 30, 2020. All consent adult COPD patients who were followed in both centers during the recruitment period were included. The Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was used to assess HRQL...

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a combined physical therapy and pharmacological treatment for patients recovering from stage III COPD exacerbation. The efficacy of the rehabilitation program was assessed using anthropological parameters, physical condition, respiratory system function, and functional endurance capacity. Data were collected from 39 patients with stage III COPD who underwent the rehabilitation program. Physical and anthropometric assessments were conducted using the Quetelet Body Mass Index, the Pignet Index, and the Vital Capacity Index (VCI)...

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is a crucial fat-soluble vitamin that has garnered significant attention due to its potential impact on respiratory health. It is noteworthy that many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often experience deficiencies or insufficiencies of vitamin D. To address this issue, our retrospective study aimed to explore the potential association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and the prognoses of COPD patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)...

INTRODUCTION: Patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are prone to acute exacerbations (AECOPD) or community acquired pneumonia (CAP), both posing severe risk of morbidity and mortality. There is no available biomarker that correctly separates AECOPD from COPD. However, because CAP and AECOPD differ in aetiology, treatment and prognosis, their discrimination would be important. METHODS: This study analysed the ability of selected candidate transcripts from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to differentiate between patients with AECOPD, COPD & CAP, and CAP without pre-existing COPD...

BACKGROUND: Horseshoe lung is a rare congenital malformation in which the lung protrudes from the mediastinum to the other side. Owing to the high frequency of other fatal cardiovascular complications, it is often diagnosed in childhood and rarely unnoted until adulthood. We report a case of horseshoe lung in an older patient who underwent thoracotomy. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 69-year-old man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a history of heavy smoking...

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an increasingly concerning global public health issue due to its high burden of morbidity and mortality. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a comprehensive intervention to improve patients' physical and psychological conditions, commonly involving oxygen supplementation. The potential benefits of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) have recently sparked interest as oxygen therapy. In this context, this study aims to assess the effects of HFNC during the exercise training component of a PR program in people with COPD...

BACKGROUND: Precise prognostic information, if available, is very helpful for guiding treatment decisions and resource allocation in patients with non-cancer non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs). This study aimed to systematically review the existing evidence, examining prognostic models and factors for identifying end-of-life non-cancer NCD patients. METHODS: Electronic databases, including Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsychINFO and other sources, were searched from the inception of these databases up until June 2023...

AIMS OF THE STUDY: Misuse of inhalers during chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment is common and may result from errors in inhalation technique or insufficient peak inspiratory flow (PIF). We aimed to evaluate the impact of an in-hospital intervention to reduce inhaler misuse at hospital discharge among patients with COPD. METHODS: We conducted a monocentric, non-randomised intervention study to compare the proportion of misused inhalers at hospital discharge by patients with COPD between a group with standard care and a group receiving an in-hospital intervention...

In this research, we aimed to harness machine learning to predict the imminent risk of acute exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients. Utilizing retrospective data from electronic medical records of two Taiwanese hospitals, we identified 26 critical features. To predict 3- and 6-month AECOPD occurrences, we deployed five distinct machine learning algorithms alongside ensemble learning. The 3-month risk prediction was best realized by the XGBoost model, achieving an AUC of 0.795, whereas the XGBoost was superior for the 6-month prediction with an AUC of 0...

This study focuses on a 56-year-old male laborer who presented to the respiratory department with grade III dyspnea persisting for 20 days, aggravated in the mornings, accompanied by chest pain over the last two days. The patient reported a productive cough producing yellowish sputum for 15 days and an ongoing fever during this period. With a two-year medical history of seasonal bronchial asthma, the patient had been using an inhaler three times daily for the past month. Additionally, a 20-year history of smoking, averaging five cigarettes per day, was disclosed...

A 49-year-old female patient presented at the hospital with a history of herpetic blisters, frequent episodes of vomiting and loose stools, bilateral upper and lower limb weakness, and diminishing sensorium. She was diagnosed with hyponatraemia and respiratory failure and later became unconscious with absent brainstem reflexes. The patient was initially treated for herpetic encephalitis, a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute exacerbation, hyponatraemia and neuroparalytic snake bite. Further evaluation, however, identified the uncommon Guillain Barre syndrome presentation with overlap of Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis...

BACKGROUND: The blood eosinophil count (BEC) is an effective biomarker for predicting inhaled corticosteroid responsiveness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: A 12-month prospective observational study was conducted in patients with COPD. BEC was measured at enrolment, and after 6 and 12 months. Patients were classified into three groups according to their baseline BEC: <100, 100 - 299, and ≥300 cells/µL. We aimed to describe the patterns of blood eosinophil stability in patients with stable COPD and compare the exacerbation rates and other clinical outcomes at 6 and 12 months...