Search results for "spirometry"

The German COPD cohort COSYCONET: Aims, methods and descriptive analysis of the study population at baseline

2016

Abstract Background The German COPD cohort study COSYCONET (" CO PD and SY stemic consequences- CO morbidities NET work") investigates the interaction of lung disease, comorbidities and systemic inflammation. Recruitment took place from 2010 to 2013 in 31 study centers. In addition to the baseline visit, follow-up visits are scheduled at 6, 18, 36 and 54 months after baseline. The study also comprises a biobank, image bank, and includes health economic data. Here we describe the study design of COSYCONET and present baseline data of our COPD cohort. Methods Inclusion criteria were broad in order to cover a wide range of patterns of the disease. In each visit, patients undergo a large panel …

Clinical effects of a Long-term Educational Program for Children with Asthma - Aironet®. A 1-yr randomized controlled trial

2009

Educational self-management programs for children with asthma have now become a routine feature in the management of the disease, as international guidelines underline. We designed this trial to find out whether Aironet, an educational program developed for children with asthma, influenced asthma severity and improved parents' knowledge of the disease. In a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial we enrolled 123 children, 72 boys, mean age 8.78 yr (+/-2.33 s.d.), with intermittent or mild persistent asthma. Participants were randomly assigned to an education group, who received Aironet at baseline and 2 months later (60 children), or to a control group who did not (63 children…

Moving bed membrane bioreactors for carbon and nutrient removal: The effect of C/N variation

2017

In this paper, an experimental campaign was carried out on a University of Cape Town Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge Membrane Bioreactor (UCT-IFAS-MBR) pilot plant. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the influent C/N ratio on the system performance in terms of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removal, biomass viability (through respirometry), activated sludge features and membrane filtration properties. The experiments were organized into three phases, characterized by a variation of the C/N ratio (namely, Phase I: C/N= 5, Phase II: C/N =10; Phase III: C/N = 2). The results highlighted that the system performance was significantly affected by C/N ratio. The rem…

New horizons in early stage COPD--improving knowledge, detection and treatment.

2011

SummaryEarly stage COPD carries a significant healthcare burden that is currently underrecognised, underdiagnosed and undertreated. Furthermore, patients at this stage can rapidly decline to advanced disease, especially if they continue to smoke. The natural history of the disease in early stages remains largely unknown, and emerging evidence indicates that we are able to reduce lung function decline and exacerbations, and improve quality of life, in early stage COPD, mainly through smoking cessation. But new evidence from randomised clinical trials also suggests an impact of pharmacotherapy on clinical outcomes in early disease. Guidelines need to be updated to reflect this greater underst…

Prognostic significance of surrogate measures for FVC in an elderly population

2008

Persistent tachypnea of infancy: Follow up at school age

2020

Background Persistent tachypnea of infancy (PTI) is a rare pediatric lung disease of unknown origin. The diagnosis can be made by clinical presentation and chest high resolution computed tomography after exclusion of other causes. Clinical courses beyond infancy have rarely been assessed. Methods Patients included in the Kids Lung Register diagnosed with PTI as infants and now older than 5 years were identified. Initial presentation, extrapulmonary comorbidities, spirometry and clinical outcome were analyzed. Results Thirty-five children older than 5 years with PTI diagnosed as infants were analyzed. At the age of 5 years, 74% of the patients were reported as asymptomatic and did not develo…

Effect of Salmeterol on Seasonal Changes in Airway Responsiveness and Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Pollen-Sensitive Asthmatic Subjects

2002

Objective Using a model of natural allergen exposure, we examined the effect of regular treatment with salmeterol on allergen-induced changes in airway responsiveness and exhaled nitric oxide (ENO). Design Double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study. Setting Specialist allergy unit in a university hospital. Patients Asthmatic patients sensitized to pollen allergens were randomly allocated to monotherapy with salmeterol (n = 14) or placebo (n = 13). Interventions Salmeterol, 25 μg, and placebo inhalers, two puffs bid, for 6 weeks. Measurements Spirometry, the level of a provocative concentration of a substance (methacholine) causing a 20% fall in FEV 1 (PC 20 ), the PC 20 level for adenos…

P120 Real life distribution of COPD severity in the German DACCORD registry: Lung function is the main driver of classification in GOLD group C and D

2015

Introduction Currently there is limited real-life data available regarding the distribution of COPD patients using the GOLD 2011 criteria. The German DACCORD registry that collects data from a large ‘real life’ population sample was used to categorise COPD patients according to GOLD 2011. Methods To be eligible for entry into DACCORD, all patients had to have a diagnosis of COPD (consistent with the German Disease Management Programme definition), and, prior to entry, had to have either newly initiated bronchodilator maintenance medication, or to have a bronchodilator added to their maintenance regimen. No other inclusion criteria were applied, and the only exclusion criterion was a diagnos…

Age is associated with asthma phenotypes

2017

Background and objective: The relationship between age and asthma phenotypes is important as population is ageing, asthma is becoming common in older ages and recently developed treatments for asthma are guided by phenotypes. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether age is associated with specific asthma phenotypes. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. We included subjects with asthma of varied degrees of severity. Subjects underwent spirometry, skin prick test to aeroallergens, answered the Asthma Control Questionnaire and had blood samples collected. We performed binary logistic regression analysis to evaluate whether age is associated with asthma phenotypes. Results: We enrolled…

Membrane Bioreactors for wastewater reuse: Respirometric assessment of biomass activity during a two year survey

2018

Abstract Stricter effluent limits, water shortage conditions, land availability requires today even more the needs of advanced wastewater treatments. Attractive solutions come from membrane bioreactors (MBR), Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) or combinations (i.e., IFAS-MBRs). One crucial aspect for the applicability of this overall new technology, compared to the conventional activated sludge systems, is the lack of knowledge for design and manage (e.g., kinetic constants, optimal operative conditions etc.). In view of the above frame, the aim of the present study was to assess the kinetic and stoichiometric parameters of bacterial species in MBRs by means of respirometric tech…