Regular balloon inflation for patients with chronic bronchitis: a randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

Preterm labour continues to complicate a substantial number of pregnancies, and preterm delivery accounts for most early neonatal deaths not due to congenital abnormalities.' Ritodrine hydrochloride, a 13 sympathomimetic agent with predominant effects on 0 receptors such as those of the uterus,2 is effective in suppressing premature uterine contractions.2 We describe six pregnant women given ritodrine hydrochloride who developed swelling of the salivary glands with hypersecretion of amylase. Patients and resultsFrom May 1990 to October 1991 we treated 150 pregnant women with premature uterine contractions with ritodrine hydrochloride. The drug was administered intravenously in a solution containing 50 mg of ritodrine hydrochloride in 500 ml of 5% glucose. The solution was administered at a rate of 50 tg/min, increased by 50 tg/min every 20-30 minutes in response to continued uterine activity until tocolysis or toxicity occurred or a dose of 350 Ftg/min was reached.Of the 150 patients six developed symptoms of parotitis after the administration of ritodrine ( CommentSix pregnant women developed symptoms of parotitis several hours after the administration of ritodrine hydrochloride. Serological tests performed in five of them excluded the possibility of mumps infection.The clinical side effects of ritodrine reflect its 3 mimetic activity.2 To our knowledge, however, 13 mimetics have not been reported to have an effect on the salivary gland in humans, though Selye observed that another 3 mimetic agent, isoprenaline, induced hypertrophy of the salivary gland in rats.3 Following this observation the relation between adrenergic agents and salivary gland function was investigated in rats since hypertrophy of the salivary gland and hypersecretion of amylase occur via the stimulation of 13 adrenoceptors.4 In vitro experiments showed that human salivary gland tissues also secrete amylase in response to isoprenaline.5 The hypersecretion of amylase and the swelling of the salivary glands in our six patients therefore probably resulted from the administration of ritodrine hydrochloride. Clinicians should be aware of this adverse effect of ritodrine, which might also occur in women receiving other (32 agonists for the treatment of premature labour. Patients, methods, and results The study was approved by the local medical ethics committee. Twenty eight patients were randomly recruited (by random numbers sampling from full clinic list) from an outpatient respiratory clinic over six months with the following inclusion criteria: (a) spirometrically proved airways obstruction (a ratio of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) to

The Manchester Respiratory Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire: Development, Reliability, Validity, and Responsiveness to Pulmonary Rehabilitation

“…If the patient's home had no stairs or he/she was assessed as unsafe performing this exercise, unweighted straight‐leg‐raising (lying) and knee extension (sitting) were substituted. Inflating party balloons to the size of melons. This has been shown to improve dyspnea and well‐being in young COPD patients …”

“…Inflating party balloons to the size of melons. This has been shown to improve dyspnea and well‐being in young COPD patients …”

Respiratory rehabilitation in the elderly patient

“…Here the technology can again be portable and even cheaper than inspiratory resistive techniques -inflating balloons at home is a low-cost method with high patient acceptability, and a beneficial effect upon breathlessness and well-being in older patients. 30 The only study so far of this technique was small and its results have yet to be replicated by others. It is certainly worthy of further study and may be particularly appropriate to the elderly.…”

Effectiveness of Balloon Exercise on Level of Dyspnoea among Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Disorder

“…At the beginning and end of the study, each subject was assessed on three outcome measures: distance walked in six minutes, overall sense of well-being, and self-assessment of breathlessness. At the end of the study, the balloon group showed a significant improvement in breathlessness and slight but no significant improvements in walking distance and well-being [7].…”

“…Data was collected using observation and interviewing method focusing on the improvement in dyspnoeic state among patients with lower respiratory tract disorder. The data was collected from wards for a period of two weeks [7,10].…”