Non-invasive Ventilation for the Management of AHRF due to Exacerbation of COPD

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) with bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) is commonly used to treat patients admitted to hospital with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) secondary to an acute exacerbation of... read more

Frequency of Exacerbations in Patients with COPD

Present treatment strategies to stratify exacerbation risk in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rely on a history of two or more events in the previous year. We aimed to understand year to year variability... read more

Effect of Noninvasive Ventilation Delivered by Helmet vs Face Mask on the Rate of Endotracheal Intubation in Patients With ARDS

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) with a face mask is relatively ineffective at preventing endotracheal intubation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Delivery of NIV with a helmet may be a superior strategy... read more

COPD can increase risk of developing sepsis

People with COPD have a higher than average risk of developing lung infections, such as pneumonia, which then puts them at higher risk for developing sepsis. Sepsis and septic shock can result from an infection anywhere in... read more

Effect of Home Noninvasive Ventilation With Oxygen Therapy vs Oxygen Therapy Alone on Hospital Readmission or Death After an Acute COPD Exacerbation

In this randomized clinical trial of 116 patients, the addition of home noninvasive ventilation significantly prolonged time to readmission or death from 1.4 months to 4.3 months. Among patients with persistent hypercapnia... read more

Clinical Implications of Sarcopenia on Decreased Bone Density in Men With COPD

Sarcopenia and osteoporosis are systemic features of COPD. The present study investigated the association between sarcopenia and osteopenia/osteoporosis and the factors associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) in men... read more

Using Ventilator to Control Oxygen May Be COPD Game-changer

Using a ventilator to control the level of supplemental oxygen a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient receives halved patients' trips to the hospital from disease flare-ups, according to a clinical trial. British... read more

Effect of Home NIV on Outcomes After Acute COPD Exacerbation

This randomized clinical trial compares the effects of home oxygen therapy with vs without home noninvasive ventilation (NIV) on time to readmission or death in patients with persistent hypercapnia after an acute chronic... read more

We're Bad at Death. Can We Talk?

Despite growing recognition that more care isn't necessarily better care, particularly at the end of life, many Americans still receive an enormous dose of medicine in their final days. On average, patients make 29 visits... read more

Bi-level Ventilation: Who Needs it and Who Doesn't?

Bi-level ventilation is commonly used in patients with respiratory failure in the emergency department. This is a brief review of the indications for bi-level ventilation as well as a review of the complications of this popular... read more

Extra Corporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal

In patients with chronic obstructive airway disease and hypercapneic acidosis, who are failing non-invasive ventilation, does extra corporeal carbon dioxide removal compared to non-invasive ventilation alone, reduce the... read more

Lung Microbiome: Key to Respiratory Ills?

Recently, JAMA discussed this research and its potential clinical applications with 2 experts on the front lines, Jack Gilbert, PhD, a microbial ecologist at the University of Chicago and director of its new Microbiome Center... read more

Addition of vitamin B12 to exercise training improves cycle ergometer endurance in advanced COPD patients

Vitamin B12 is essential in the homocysteine, mitochondrial, muscle and hematopoietic metabolisms, and its effects on exercise tolerance and kinetics adjustments of oxygen consumption (V'O2p) in rest-to-exercise transition... read more

Clinical review: The ABC of weaning failure

About 20% to 30% of patients are difficult to wean from invasive mechanical ventilation. The pathophysiology of difficult weaning is complex. Accordingly, determining the reason for difficult weaning and subsequently developing... read more

Management of COPD exacerbations: a European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society guideline

This document provides clinical recommendations for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. This recommendation places a high value on improving clinical outcomes and a lower value on the burden... read more

Sepsis Readmissions Compared With Other Medical Conditions

This study uses data from a US readmissions database to assess whether sepsis hospitalizations account for a higher proportion of unplanned 30-day readmissions than hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction, heart... read more

Exacerbation of COPD: Causes, Warning Signs, and Treatment

What is a COPD exacerbation and what are the main causes? Learn about what the symptoms are and what is suggested to try to prevent COPD. Most commonly referred to as COPD, the term describes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.... read more

COPD Patients in US Often Skip Medications

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often have other chronic conditions, like heart disease, and those who are poor about keeping up with treatments for these comorbidites are also less likely to adhere... read more

COPD and Life Expectancy

COPD is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a term for many health conditions that affect a person's lungs on a chronic basis. The condition causes... read more

Professor Wins Outstanding Investigator Award for Lung Disease Antioxidant Studies

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has named the recipient of its inaugural Outstanding Investigator Award: Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Larner College... read more

Disease Causation Index Established By New Mathematical Model

Patients with complex diseases have a higher risk of developing another. Multi-morbidity represents a huge problem in everyday clinical practice, because it makes it more difficult to provide successful treatment. By analysing... read more

Here is Why COPD Disrupts Lung-Repair Ability

In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the patients' lungs lose their ability to repair damage on their own. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, partner in the German Center for Lung Research, now... read more