We performed a prospective observational study to define the clinical course and the prognostic factors of 31 patients with postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans. All patients presented with an episode of acute bronchiolitis in the first 2 years of life, and respiratory symptoms and signs persisted since then. Other diseases which may cause chronic airflow obstruction were excluded. The patients were followed after their inclusion in the study and the clinical findings were recorded in a standardized questionnaire and form. Repeated chest radiographs and lung perfusion scans were obtained in all 31 patients and semiannual spirometry was performed in 8 older patients. Eight patients had lung biospies. The clinical course varied in the 31 patients during a mean of 3.5 years of follow‐up. The outcome of the patients included clinical remission (22.6%), persistence of respiratory symptoms and signs (67.7%), and death (9.7%). An older age at onset of illness and presence of atopy as suggested by an elevated serum IgE appeared to predispose to a poor prognosis. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2000; 29:341–350. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of a pulmonary rehabilitation program on the functional capacity and on the quality of life of patients on waiting lists for lung transplantation. METHODS: Patients on lung transplant waiting lists were referred to a pulmonary rehabilitation program consisting of 36 sessions. Before and after the program, participating patients were evaluated with the six-minute walk test and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). The pulmonary rehabilitation program involved muscle strengthening exercises, aerobic training, clinical evaluation, psychiatric evaluation, nutritional counseling, social assistance, and educational lectures. RESULTS: Of the 112 patients initially referred to the program, 58 completed it. The mean age of the participants was 46 ± 14 years, and females accounted for 52%. Of those 58 patients, 37 (47%) had pulmonary fibrosis, 13 (22%) had pulmonary emphysema, and 18 (31%) had other types of advanced lung disease. The six-minute walk distance was significantly greater after the program than before (439 ± 114 m vs. 367 ± 136 m, p = 0.001), the mean increase being 72 m. There were significant point increases in the scores on the following SF-36 domains: physical functioning, up 22 (p = 0.001), role-physical, up 10 (p = 0.045); vitality, up 10 (p < 0.001); social functioning, up 15 (p = 0.001); and mental health, up 8 (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary rehabilitation had a positive impact on exercise capacity and quality of life in patients on lung transplant waiting lists.
Objective: To relate the experience of the staff at a health care facility specializing in the management of patients with aspiration lung abscess. Methods: Diagnostic aspects and therapeutic results of 252 consecutive cases of lung abscess seen in patients hospitalized between 1968 and 2004. Results: Of the 252 patients, 209 were male, and 43 were female.The mean age was 41.4 years, and 70.2% were alcoholic. Cough, expectoration, fever and overall poor health were seen over 97% of patients. Chest pain was reported by 64%, 30.2% presented digital clubbing, 82.5% had dental disease, 78.6% reported having lost consciousness at least once, and 67.5% presented foul smelling sputum. In 85.3% of the patients, the lung lesions were located either in the posterior segments of the upper lobe or in the superior segments of the lower lobe, and 96.8% were unilateral. Concomitant pleural empyema was seen in 24 (9.5%) of the patients. Mixed flora was identified in the bronchopulmonary or pleural secretions of 182 patients (72.2%). All patients were initially treated with antibiotics (mainly penicillin or clindamycin), and postural drainage was performed in 98.4% of cases. Surgical procedures were performed in 52 (20.6%) of the patients (drainage of empyema in 24, pulmonary resection in 22 and drainage of the abscess in 6). Cure was obtained in 242 patients (96.0%), and 10 (4.0%) died. Conclusion: Lung abscess occurred predominantly in male adults presenting dental disease and having a history of loss of consciousness (especially as a result of alcohol abuse). Most of the patients were treated clinically with antibiotics and postural drainage, although some surgical procedure was required in one-fifth of the study sample.
This study was conducted to evaluate whether a pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP) is independently associated with survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) undergoing lung transplant (LTx). This quasi-experimental study included 89 patients who underwent LTx due to IPF. Thirty-two completed all 36 sessions in a PRP while on the waiting list for LTx (PRP group), and 53 completed fewer than 36 sessions (controls). Survival after LTx was the main outcome; invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), length of stay (LOS) in intensive care unit (ICU) and in hospital were secondary outcomes. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models were used in survival analyses. Cox regression models showed that the PRP group had a reduced 54.0% (hazard ratio = 0.464, 95% confidence interval 0.222–0.970, p = 0.041) risk of death. A lower number of patients in the PRP group required IMV for more than 24 hours after LTx (9.0% vs. 41.6% p = 0.001). This group also spent a mean of 5 days less in the ICU (p = 0.004) and 5 days less in hospital (p = 0.046). In conclusion, PRP PRP completion halved the risk of cumulative mortality in patients with IPF undergoing unilateral LTx
Brain death (BD) alters the pathophysiology of patients and may damage the kidneys, the lungs, the heart and the liver. To obtain better quality transplant organs, intensive care physicians in charge of the maintenance of deceased donors should attentively monitor these organs. Careful hemodynamic, ventilatory and bronchial clearance management minimizes the loss of kidneys and lungs. The evaluation of cardiac function and morphology supports the transplant viability assessment of the heart. The monitoring of liver function, the management of the patient's metabolic status and the evaluation of viral serology are fundamental for organ selection by the transplant teams and for the care of the transplant recipient. OBJECTIVEThese guidelines are aimed at contributing to the institutional coordination of organ transplantation and will provide "real world" guidelines that are appropriate in the Brazilian context for the uniform care of the deceased donor. Ultimately, this aim of this guide is to increase the quality and quantity of transplantable organs. METHODOLOGYThe Writing and Planning Committee, comprised of young intensive care physicians and intensive medicine residents, conducted an extensive literature review. From this review, they formulated questions and forwarded the questions to all of the authors of this article. These initial questions served as the starting point for receiving suggestions for the formulation of other questions and definitions.The final questions were revised by the Executive Committee and were returned to the authors to develop the guidelines presented in this article.The questions guided the literature review, which was conducted using the P.I.C.O. methodology where P stands for the target population, I for the intervention, C for the control or comparative group and O for the clinical outcome.The retrieved articles were critically analyzed and categorized according to their grade of recommendation and the strength of the presented evidence in the following manner:
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