Search results for "Respiratory function tests"
showing 10 items of 126 documents
Imaging of the lungs using 3he MRI: Preliminary clinical experience in 18 patients with and without lung disease
1997
The purpose of this study was to describe the 3He MRI findings of normal pulmonary ventilation in healthy volunteers and to evaluate abnormalities in patients with different lung diseases. Hyperpolarized 3He gas (300 ml, 3 x 10(5) Pa, polarized to 35-45% by optical pumping, provided in special glass cells) was inhaled by 8 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with different lung diseases. Imaging was performed with a three-dimensional fast low-angle shot (FLASH) sequence (TR = 11.8 msec; TE = 5 msec; transmitter amplitude, 5-8 V; corresponding flip angle, < 5 degrees) in a single breath-hold (22-42 seconds). Clinical and radiological examinations were available for correlation. The studies we…
Impact of hypertonic saline nebulisation combined with oscillatory positive expiratory pressure on sputum expectoration and related symptoms in cysti…
2018
Abstract Objective To evaluate the impact of combining nebulised hyaluronic acid plus hypertonic saline (HA + HS) with oscillatory positive expiratory pressure (oscillatory-PEP) on sputum expectoration and related symptoms in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). Design Randomised crossover trial. Setting Seven centres. Participants Twenty-two outpatients with CF. Interventions Usual care (HA + HS followed by autogenic drainage) and combined therapy (HA + HS with oscillatory-PEP followed by autogenic drainage]. Each treatment was performed for 5 days. Main outcome measures Sputum expectoration was measured during the nebulisation period (primary outcome), during autogenic drainage and for 24 ho…
The effect of adjustable dosing with budesonide/formoterol on health-related quality of life and asthma control compared with fixed dosing
2004
Budesonide/formoterol in a single inhaler is an effective therapy for asthma. We investigated whether adjustable maintenance dosing with budesonide/formoterol could maintain health-related quality of life (HRQL) and asthma control.Asthma patients (n = 4025) received budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort 160/4.5 microg) 2 inhalations twice daily (b.i.d.) for 4 weeks during run-in of this open, multicentre study. Patients were randomised to adjustable dosing (budesonide/formoterol 1 inhalation b.i.d.; stepping up to 2 or 4 inhalations bid for 1 week if asthma worsened) or fixed dosing (budesonide/formoterol 2 inhalations b.i.d.), for 12 weeks. Change in HRQL (standardised Asthma Quality of Life Qu…
Effects of extra-fine inhaled beclomethasone/formoterol on both large and small airways in asthma
2010
BACKGROUND: Airway inflammation in asthma involves both large and small airways, and the combination of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long acting beta-2 agonists (LABA) is the mainstay of therapy. Available inhaled combinations differ in terms of drug delivery to the lung and the ability to reach small airways. Aim: To evaluate whether treatment with an extra-fine inhaled combination provides additional effects vs a nonextra-fine combination on airway function. METHODS: After a 1- to 4-week run-in period, patients with asthma were randomized to a double blind, double dummy, 12-week treatment with either extra-fine beclomethasone/formoterol (BDP/F) 400/24 microg daily or fluticasone prop…
Potent bronchoprotective effect of deep inspiration and its absence in asthma
2000
In the absence of deep inspirations, healthy individuals develop bronchoconstriction with methacholine inhalation. One hypothesis is that deep inspiration results in bronchodilation. In this study, we tested an alternative hypothesis, that deep inspiration acts as a bronchoprotector. Single-dose methacholine bronchoprovocations were performed after 20 min of deep breath inhibition, in nine healthy subjects and in eight asthmatics, to establish the dose that reduces forced expiratory volume in 1 s by >15%. The provocation was repeated with two and five deep inspirations preceding methacholine. Additional studies were carried out to assess optimization and reproducibility of the protocol …
Extracellular matrix composition in COPD
2012
Extracellular matrix (ECM) composition has an important role in determining airway structure. We postulated that ECM lung composition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients differs from that observed in smoking and nonsmoking subjects without airflow obstruction. We determined the fractional areas of elastic fibres, type-I, -III and -IV collagen, versican, decorin, biglycan, lumican, fibronectin and tenascin in different compartments of the large and small airways and lung parenchyma in 26 COPD patients, 26 smokers without COPD and 16 nonsmoking control subjects. The fractional area of elastic fibres was higher in non-obstructed smokers than in COPD and nonsmoking controls…
High-Resolution Computed Tomographic Evaluation of Airway Distensibility and the Effects of Lung Inflation on Airway Caliber in Healthy Subjects and …
2001
The effects of a deep inspiration (DI) in individuals with asthma differ from those observed in healthy subjects. It has been postulated that the beneficial effect of lung inflation is mediated by airway stretch. One hypothesis to explain the defects in the function of lung inflation in asthma is that a DI may be unable to stretch the airways. This may result from attenuation of the tethering forces between the airways and the surrounding parenchyma. In the current study, we used high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) to examine the ability of a DI to distend the airways of subjects with asthma (n = 10) compared with healthy subjects (n = 9) at baseline and after increasing airway tone …
The effect of challenge method on methacholine-induced changes in sensitivity and air trapping
2010
Summary Background The methacholine challenge test performed with the tidal breathing method induces a greater fall in FEV 1 than the dosimeter method; however, the effect of the challenge method on methacholine-induced fall in FVC has not been investigated. Objective To determine the influence of the challenge method on methacholine-induced changes in FEV 1 and FVC. Methods Airway responsiveness to methacholine was determined by dosimeter method and tidal breathing method in 37 subjects with suspected asthma. The dosimeter was modified to deliver an identical volume to that obtained with the tidal breathing method and the same nebulizer model was used for the two challenges. The response w…
Differences in sensitivity, maximal response and position of the concentration-response curve to methacholine between asthmatics, patients with aller…
1998
The aim of this study was to detect differences in maximal response and position of the concentration-response curves to methacholine between asthmatics and subjects with allergic rhinitis. A total of 228 adults (107 mild asthmatics, 96 allergic rhinitics and 25 healthy control subjects) were challenged with methacholine. The test was interrupted when FEV1 dropped by more than 40% or when the highest concentration of methacholine (200 mg ml-1) had been administered. Concentration-response curves were characterized by their PC20 (concentration of methacholine that produced 20% fall in FEV1 = airway sensitivity), and if possible, by their EC50 (concentration of methacholine that produced 50% …
Asthma control in severe asthmatics under treatment with omalizumab: A cross-sectional observational study in Italy
2015
Few data are available on the proportion of asthmatics achieving a good asthma control (according GINA guidelines) and on the level of airway inflammation during omalizumab treatment. The aim of this cross-sectional national observational study was to assess the level of control (according to GINA guidelines) achieved in a group of asthmatics on omalizumab treatment, and to characterize the factors that influence the lack of control. We studied 306 asthmatics under omalizumab treatment for a median of 32 months (range 4-120). The level of control according to GINA was good in 25.2%, partial in 47.1% and poor in 24.5% of patients (data were missing for the remaining 3.2%). Comparison between…