It has been postulated that differences in provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20) values between the dosimeter method and tidal breathing method might be due to differences in the dose of agonist delivered to the mouth. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of the dose of aerosol delivered to the mouth on differences in the response obtained with each challenge method.

The increased risk of atherosclerotic morbidity and mortality in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked to arterial hypertension, insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, and oxidative stress. We aimed to determine the effects of 8 weeks of therapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on glucose and lipid profile, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and global cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with severe OSA and metabolic syndrome.

It is necessary to ensure the quality of sleep studies conducted at home given that there can be potential variations. Automatic analysis is simple and could help in an audit. The objective is to find a predictive model of visual reading using an automatic analysis of saturation and respiratory signal in order to establish a reading standard with a polygraph used at home on patients who have sleep apnea-hypopnea clinical symptoms. The analysis was carried out using the following two definitions of hypopnea: an event with a duration of >or= 10 s with a decrease of > 30% of the respiratory signal; and an event associated either with a desaturation of >or= 3% or with a desaturation of >or= 4%. A total of 189 studies were selected from a representative sample of 218 patients. Two pneumologists carried out the readings together. The agreement between the visual respiratory disturbance index (RDI) [ie, apneas plus hypopneas] for both definitions and the automatic respiratory signal analysis (ie, automatic RDI [RDIa]) or the automatic desaturation index of 3% (DI3%a) and of 4% (DI4%a) showed limits from a Bland-Altman plot that were too large. However, a multiple linear regression analysis with RDIa and DI3%a or RDIa and DI4%a presented an acceptable level of agreement with RDI for both definitions (p < 0.001; r(2) = 96.2% and 97%, respectively). The 95% confidence interval for the differences between the RDI and the model was +/- 10.1 or +/- 8.8 events per hour, so a study should be revised outside of these limits. A predictive multiple regression model that uses the automatic analysis of the oximetry and respiratory signal could establish a standard for the visual reading of polygraphy at home.

A 6-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study was conducted in patients with COPD to compare lung function improvements of tiotropium, 18 microg qd, plus formoterol, 12 microg bid, to salmeterol, 50 microg bid, plus fluticasone, 500 microg bid.

Most studies evaluating bronchodilation in flow-volume spirometry have been conducted in patients with obstructive airways diseases, but less is known about bronchodilation responses in the general population or in healthy subjects.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is the most common cause of scleroderma-related deaths. New medications for PAH patients make it necessary to identify patients with high risk factors for PAH. This study looks at the use of an exercise echocardiogram in identifying patients who may have PAH and may be candidates for early therapeutic intervention.

Ciclesonide is a novel inhaled corticosteroid for the treatment of asthma, and it is important to measure the onset of effect of this therapy on airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), exhaled nitric oxide (NO), and levels of eosinophils in induced sputum.

Despite a variety of benefits brought by pulmonary rehabilitation to patients with COPD, it is unclear whether these patients are more active during daily life after the program.

We evaluated the short-term effect of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on sleep apnea in patients with systolic heart failure.

Pulmonary emphysema is associated with cachexia and disregulation of the hormones regulating the glycolipid metabolism, insulin resistance, and altered substrate utilization. This study aimed at identifying the effects of lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) on glycolipidic hormones compared to respiratory rehabilitation (RR).

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased BP and other cardiometabolic risk factors. The aim of the present study was to determine whether arterial stiffness and central BP (two important cardiovascular risk factors) would change, independent of peripheral BP following either the initiation of or withdrawal from nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment in subjects with OSA.

In patients with COPD, prognosis might be determined at least in part by the extent of cardiac stress induced by hypoxia and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The airways in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are characterized by the accumulation of tenacious, dehydrated mucus that is a precursor for chronic infection, inflammation, and tissue destruction. The clearance of mucus is an integral component of daily therapy. Inhaled mannitol is an osmotic agent that increases the water content of the airway surface liquid, and improves the clearance of mucus with the potential to improve lung function and respiratory health. To this end, this study examined the efficacy and safety of therapy with inhaled mannitol over a 2-week period.

Secondhand smoke triggers childhood asthma. Understanding sources of exposure, parental beliefs about exposure, and readiness to change that exposure are important for designing smoke exposure reduction interventions.

Despite overwhelming data that cigarette smoking causes COPD, only a minority of long-term smokers are affected, strongly suggesting that genetic factors modify susceptibility to this disease. We hypothesized that individual variations exist in the response to cigarette smoking, with variability among smokers in expression levels of protective/susceptibility genes.

Increased right ventricular afterload leads to left ventricular diastolic dysfunction due to ventricular interdependence. Increased right ventricular afterload is frequently present in patients with COPD. The purpose of this study was to determine whether left ventricular diastolic dysfunction could be detected in COPD patients with normal or elevated pulmonary artery pressure (PAP).

Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) and central sleep apnea (CSA) are common in patients with left-heart failure. We investigated the hypothesis that sleep-disordered breathing is also prevalent in patients with right ventricular dysfunction due to pulmonary hypertension (PH).

The goal of this study was to determine the optimal number of aspirations per lymph node (LN) station during endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) for maximum diagnostic yield in mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the absence of rapid on-site cytopathologic examination.

Depressive conditions in asthma patients have been described mostly from patient reports and less often from physician reports. While patient reports can encompass multiple symptoms, physician assessments can attribute symptoms to a mental health etiology. Our objectives were to identify associations between patient- and physician-reported depressive conditions and asthma severity and control.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) can reliably sample enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and in practice is mostly used to sample nodes visible on CT or positron emission tomography (PET). Few data are available on the use of endoscopic procedures to stage the mediastinum in clinical stage 1 lung cancer. The aim of the present study was to determine the results of EBUS-TBNA in sampling mediastinal lymph nodes in patients with lung cancer and a radiographically normal mediastinum and no PET activity. From January 2004 to May 2007, patients highly suspicious for NSCLC with CT scans showing no enlarged lymph nodes (no node > 1 cm) and a negative PET finding of the mediastinum underwent EBUS-TBNA. Identifiable lymph nodes at locations 2r, 2L, 4r, 4L, 7, 10r, 10L, 11r, and 11L were aspirated. All patients underwent subsequent surgical staging. Diagnoses based on aspiration results were compared with those based on surgical results. One hundred patients (mean age, 52.4 years; 59 men) were included. After surgery, 97 patients (mean age, 52.9 years; 57 men) had NSCLC confirmed and were included in the analysis. In this group, 156 lymph nodes ranging 5 to 10 mm in size were detected and sampled. Malignancy was detected in nine patients but missed in one patient. Mean diameter of the punctured lymph nodes was 7.9 mm. The sensitivity of EBUS-TBNA for detecting malignancy was 89%, specificity was 100%, and the negative predictive value was 98.9%. No complications occurred. In conclusion, EBUS-TBNA can be used to accurately sample and stage patients with clinical stage 1 lung cancer and no evidence of mediastinal involvement on CT and PET. Potentially operable patients with no signs of mediastinal involvement may benefit from presurgical staging with EBUS-TBNA.