Search results for "Respiratory medicine"
showing 10 items of 1534 documents
Bridge to Operation with the GPIIb/IIIa Inhibitor Abciximab in High-Risk Coronary Patients
2006
BACKGROUND Glycoprotein-IIb/IIIa inhibitors are now frequently used in the cardiological treatment of high-risk coronary patients even if the patient is considered suitable for surgical intervention. However, there is no consensus whether GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors should be stopped before operation because of an increased risk of bleeding or if surgery should even be delayed until the anticoagulating effect subsides. METHODS From June 2002 to August 2003 140 patients who had to undergo primary aorto-coronary bypass for ongoing myocardial ischemia were enrolled in the present study. The patients received either clopidogrel, aspirin and heparin or additionally abciximab until operation. RESULTS A…
The MRC dyspnoea scale by telephone interview to monitor health status in elderly COPD patients
2010
SummaryDyspnoea is the most common symptom associated with poor quality of life in patients affected by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). While COPD severity is commonly staged by lung function, the Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea scale has been proposed as a more clinically meaningful method of quantifying disease severity in COPD. We wished to assess whether this scale might also be useful during telephone surveys as a simple surrogate marker of perceived health status in elderly patients with COPD.We conducted a comprehensive health status assessment by telephone survey of 200 elderly patients who had a physician diagnosis of COPD. The telephone survey contained 71 it…
Blood metal levels after minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum
2021
Abstract OBJECTIVES Minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) is the most popular surgical approach for paediatric patients with pectus excavatum. A substernal stainless still bar is inserted and left in place for 3 years and then removed. Our goal was to investigate blood metal levels after MIRPE and to correlate them with surgical details, such as the numbers of bars and stabilizers and the length of time the bar was in place. METHODS Blood levels of iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum and nickel were analysed in 130 teenagers (108 boys and 22 girls) who had MIRPE using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A total of 62 patients were operated on using MIRPE (study…
Omalizumab reduces oral corticosteroid use in patients with severe allergic asthma: Real-life data
2010
SummaryBackgroundLong-term oral corticosteroid (OCS) therapy is associated with significant burden on patients and healthcare resources; treatments that may help reduce their use are important to improve asthma management.MethodsFrench and German clinicians prescribing omalizumab for >16 weeks to patients with severe persistent allergic asthma collected OCS use data. OCS use was recorded at baseline and at a non-specific time point beyond 16 weeks from initiation of omalizumab. The number of asthma exacerbations (FEV1 16 weeks. Of these, 166 (48.0%) were receiving maintenance OCS (France, n = 64; Germany, n = 102). Following omalizumab therapy, 84 (50.6%) patients on OCS at baseline reduced…
Hypersensitivity to clavulanic acid in children
2008
We present 10 cases (6 males and 4 females) of children aged 4 to 12 years, who were diagnosed with allergy to clavulanic acid (CL) and treated in the Paediatric Allergy Section of the University Hospital Dr. Peset in Valencia from 2000 to 2005. The children reported symptoms of urticaria and angio-oedema after receiving orally-administered amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (A-CL) for an infection. Diagnosis was based on the confirmation of an IgE-mediated aetiology by an oral challenge test with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. Following negative skin test results and CAP for penicilloyl G and V, amoxicillin, ampicillin and cefaclor < 0.35 KU/l, those patients who were allergic to clavulanic acid (p…
Prevalence of respiratory syncytial virus infection in Italian infants hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infections, and association bet…
2002
This study was designed to collect data on the prevalence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in Italy in infants hospitalized for lower respiratory tract infections, and to evaluate which of the recognized risk factors might be associated with disease severity. Thirty-two centers throughout Italy participated in the study. Over a 6-month period (November 1,1999 to April 30, 2000), we evaluated all children2 years of age hospitalized for lower respiratory tract infections. All subjects were tested for RSV within 24 hr of hospitalization by using an immuno-enzymatic diagnostic test (Abbott Testpack, RSV). Logistic regression was used to identify the factors that might be associate…
Hypoxemia Adds to the CURB-65 Pneumonia Severity Score in Hospitalized Patients With Mild Pneumonia
2011
BACKGROUND: Hypoxemia may influence the prognosis of patients with mild pneumonia, regardless of the initial CURB-65 score (confusion, blood urea nitrogen > 20 mg/dL, respiratory rate > 30 breaths/min, blood pressure < 90/60 mm Hg, and age ≥ 65 y). OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk factors associated with hypoxemia and the influence of hypoxemia on clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with mild pneumonia. METHODS: We performed a multicenter prospective cohort study of 585 consecutive hospitalized patients with mild pneumonia (CURB-65 groups 0 and 1). We stratified the patients according to the presence of hypoxemia, defined as a PaO2/FIO2 < 300 mm Hg on admission. We assessed the risk …
Phosphodiesterase 4 inhibition decreases MUC5AC expression induced by epidermal growth factor in human airway epithelial cells
2005
Background: A common pathological feature of chronic inflammatory airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is mucus hypersecretion. MUC5AC is the predominant mucin gene expressed in healthy airways and is increased in asthmatic and COPD patients. Recent clinical trials indicate that phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitors may have therapeutic value for COPD and asthma. However, their direct effects on mucin expression have been scarcely investigated. Methods: MUC5AC mRNA and protein expression were examined in cultured human airway epithelial cells (A549) and in human isolated bronchial tissue stimulated with epidermal growth factor (EGF; 25 ng/ml).…
Late, giant brachial artery aneurysm following hemodialysis fistula ligation in a renal transplant patient: case report and literature review.
2012
Brachial artery aneurysm (BAA) following long-standing arteriovenous fistula ligation after renal transplantation is uncommon. Herein, we describe the case of a 64-year-old man who developed a giant symptomatic BAA 21 years after ligation of the fistula. He was submitted to surgical excision of the aneurysm followed by interposition prosthetic graft.
Muscarinic Control of Histamine Release from Airways
2000
Isolated human bronchi and rat tracheae were incubated in organ baths to measure histamine release. The calcium ionophore A23187, 3 micromol/L in rat trachea and 10 micromol/L in human bronchi, stimulated histamine release by 145 +/- 50% (n = 6) and 270 +/- 48% (n = 7) above the prestimulation level, respectively. Acetylcholine (100 pmol/L; human bronchi) or oxotremorine (1, 100, 10,000 nmol/L; rat trachea) did not affect the spontaneous histamine release. In rat tracheae neither acetylcholine nor oxotremorine inhibited A23187-evoked histamine release, whereas 100 pmol/L acetylcholine significantly suppressed the evoked histamine release in human bronchi by 86%. For receptor characterizatio…