Background and Aims-The six minute walk test is widely used as an outcome measure in pulmonary rehabilitation programs. The objective of this study is to report the magnitude of change in the six minute walk test with test repetition in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on pulmonary rehabilitation program.
Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Many people with COPD suffer from Acute exacerbations of COPD which affects their health and poor prognosis, leading to increased costs of hospitalization and quality of life. Materials and Methods: 69 patients were initially screened by Gold criteria to establish COPD Exacerbations were measured as per Anthonisen's criteria and the patient was admitted into the ICU. Hematological and biochemical investigations were done and exacerbation were graded. Results: The mean age of the patients was 67.2 ± 9.8 years. Out of the 69 patients, 6 of them died during their stay at the hospital. 58% of them were smokers having more than 2 pack of cigarettes per day. The most common comorbity present among these patients was Diabetes in 44.9% of them followed by tuberculosis in 34.8% patients. Conclusion: Some of the risk factors for acute exacerbations in COPD are age, diabetes, FEV1 volume, PaCO2 levels, smoking. Therefore, to reduce the morbidity and mortality of the patient's an early detection is essential so that treatment con be started. Moreover, since future exacerbations normally occur in such patients, they need to be monitored before their symptoms become more prominent.
Tuberculosis has for a very long time been one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality globally. Diabetes mellitus is another disease which is growing into another major global challenge. Presence of diabetes increases the risk of tuberculosis by 2 to 3 times. 2 sputum samples were collected from all the 202 patients for Zeihl Neelson’s staining to screen the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacillus. Venous blood was taken for blood glycated hemoglobin and other biochemical and hematological tests. Out of these 41.6% had diabetes and 58.4% were non diabetic. The chest X-rays were severe in 51.2% patients among the TB and DM comorbid patients and 33.9% among the non diabetic patients. Poor outcome was seen in 54.8% of the cases among the DM and TB patients which in only TB patients with no diabetes, the number of cured patients was far more. There was a high incidence of diabetes among the patients with TB, which increases the morbidity and mortality among these patients. Smoking and alcoholism are preventable risk factors. So proper counselling and health education is necessary so that the patients would be able to monitor their blood sugar levels.
Background: Spirometry is an important diagnostic monitoring tool for various lung disorders. Ventilatory function can be assessed by spirometry. Also, we can find whether it is obstructive or restrictive disease. An appropriate technique is essential to ensure accurate results. Spirometry requires proper understanding and cooperation of the patient while doing the test. The objective was to evaluate the efficacy and utility of spirometry data in elderly (>65years) individuals with or without lung diseases.Methods: A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out among 199 subjects who were then divided into 100 controls and 99 cases. Spirometry was carried out among all subjects. The values of spirometry were compared among cases and controls as well as across age and sex groups. Student’s t-test was applied.Results: After studying the spirometric data in elderly population with or without lung disease, there was significant difference between cases and controls as far as pack years of smoking was concerned. There was significant difference in FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC between the cases and controls. As the age increased the spirometric values decreased. The spirometry was normal in controls in majority compared to none in cases.Conclusions: Spirometry should be used by all primary care and specialist physicians even in elderly population.
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