ICU Utilization for Patients With Acute Exacerbation of COPD Receiving Noninvasive Ventilation

ICU Utilization for Patients With Acute Exacerbation of COPD Receiving Noninvasive Ventilation

There is wide variability in the rate of ICU utilization for noninvasive ventilation across hospitals. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients receiving noninvasive ventilation had similar in-hospital mortality... read more

ICU May Be Overused for Some COPD, Acute MI, HF Patients

ICU May Be Overused for Some COPD, Acute MI, HF Patients

For patients with COPD, heart failure and myocardial infarction, who are not critically ill, a stay in the ICU may be no more beneficial than staying on a ward, according to an analysis just published in the Annals of the... read more

The Effect of Defining COPD by the Lower Limit of Normal of FEV1/FVC Ratio in TIOSPIR Participants

The Effect of Defining COPD by the Lower Limit of Normal of FEV1/FVC Ratio in TIOSPIR Participants

Using the lower limit of normal to define airflow obstruction would have excluded patients in TIOtropium Safety and Performance In Respimat study with a higher risk of nonfatal major adverse cardiovascular events and a lower... read more

Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination on Hospitalizations and Risk Factors for Severe Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With COPD

Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination on Hospitalizations and Risk Factors for Severe Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With COPD

Influenza vaccination significantly reduced influenza-related hospitalization among patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Initiatives to increase vaccination uptake and early use of antiviral agents... read more

Surfactant protein D is a causal risk factor for COPD

Surfactant protein D is a causal risk factor for COPD

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is produced primarily in the lung and is involved in regulating pulmonary surfactants, lipid homeostasis and innate immunity. Circulating SP-D levels in blood are associated with chronic obstructive... read more

Effect of a Program Combining Transitional Care and Long-term Self-management Support on Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COPD

Effect of a Program Combining Transitional Care and Long-term Self-management Support on Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COPD

In a single-site randomized clinical trial of patients hospitalized due to Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a 3-month program that combined transition and long-term self-management support resulted in significantly... read more

Effect of Theophylline as Adjunct to Inhaled Corticosteroids on Exacerbations in Patients With COPD

Effect of Theophylline as Adjunct to Inhaled Corticosteroids on Exacerbations in Patients With COPD

Among adults with COPD at high risk of exacerbation treated with inhaled corticosteroids, the addition of low-dose theophylline, compared with placebo, did not reduce the number COPD exacerbations over a 1-year period. The... read more

Effect of Bronchodilation, Exercise Training, and Behavior Modification on Symptoms and Physical Activity in COPD

Effect of Bronchodilation, Exercise Training, and Behavior Modification on Symptoms and Physical Activity in COPD

Tiotropium/olodaterol, with or without ExT, improved EET in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) taking part in an SMBM program. Combination bronchodilation, with or without ExT, did not provide additional... read more

Comparison between procalcitonin and C-reactive protein to predict blood culture results in ICU patients

Comparison between procalcitonin and C-reactive protein to predict blood culture results in ICU patients

Biomarkers represent an essential tool for identification of patients developing infection and to determine their clinical severity. Procalcitonin (PCT) levels appeared to be correlated with the development of severe bacterial... read more

Alcohol Withdrawal: One Order to Sedate Them All

Alcohol Withdrawal: One Order to Sedate Them All

This is a retrospective cohort study describing 86 admissions to the ICU for alcohol withdrawal between 2011-2015. 86% were treated with benzodiazepines before ICU admission, usually on the general ward. The average dose... read more

Dutch Ambitions on eHealth

Dutch Ambitions on eHealth

Dutch government is encouraging the healthcare sector to expand telehealth (eHealth) services. Dutch government wants eHealth to become more widely available and is encouraging the healthcare sector to develop it further.... read more

Natural History of COPD Exacerbations in a General Practice-based Population with COPD

Natural History of COPD Exacerbations in a General Practice-based Population with COPD

A large proportion of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) do not exacerbate over a maximum 10 years of follow-up. AECOPD frequency in a single year predicts long-term AECOPD rate. Increasing frequency... read more

Providing Psychological Support to People in Intensive Care

Providing Psychological Support to People in Intensive Care

The Provision Of Psychological support to People in Intensive Care (POPPI) psychological intervention to reduce acute patient stress in critical care and prevent future psychological morbidity was feasible and acceptable.... read more

Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction in COPD. What We Know and Can Do for Our Patients

Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction in COPD. What We Know and Can Do for Our Patients

Skeletal muscle dysfunction occurs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and affects both ventilatory and nonventilatory muscle groups. It represents a very important comorbidity that is associated... read more

The Elevated Troponin: What else besides ACS could cause troponin elevation?

The Elevated Troponin: What else besides ACS could cause troponin elevation?

The increased troponin used to be a straight ticket to the cardiology service. Now, the picture isn't so clear. What do you need to consider in the patient with elevated troponin? Cardiac troponins consist of three proteins:... read more

At the Root: Defining and Halting Progression of Early COPD

At the Root: Defining and Halting Progression of Early COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disorder with varying presentations and progression, but limited disease-modifying therapies. Trajectories of lung function decline in COPD differ significantly... read more

Management and Outcomes of ARDS Patients With and Without Comorbid Conditions

Management and Outcomes of ARDS Patients With and Without Comorbid Conditions

Half the patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) had major comorbidities, which were associated with severe ARDS, multiple organ dysfunction, and day‑28 mortality. These findings do not support the exclusion... read more