COPD Science

Oximetry neither to prescribe long-term oxygen therapy nor to screen for severe hypoxaemia
21-10-2021CONCLUSIONS: Several patients who qualify for LTOT would be denied treatment using a prescription threshold of saturation ≤88% or a screening threshold of ≤92%. Prescription of LTOT should be based on P (aO(2)) measurement.

BreathEase: rationale, design and recruitment of a randomised trial and embedded mixed-methods study of a multiprofessional breathlessness service in early palliative care
21-10-2021CONCLUSION: The BreathEase study has a larger and more heterogeneous sample compared to other trials. The self-referral-based and prolonged recruitment drawing on media sources approximates real-world conditions of early palliative care. Integrating qualitative and quantitative components will allow a better understanding and interpretation of the results of the main effectiveness study.

Exertional multidimensional dyspnoea predicts exacerbation in stable outpatients with COPD
21-10-2021This study assessed the sensory and emotional aspects of breathlessness under the same exercise load in patients with COPD. Breathing discomfort with constant exercise predicted exacerbations within 1 year. https://bit.ly/3l2oA4A.

Modified Medical Research Council and COPD Assessment Test Cutoff Points
21-10-2021CONCLUSIONS: mMRC cutoff point of ≥ 2 is recommended to discriminate PADL level and sedentary behavior, whereas CAT cutoff points of ≥ 16 and ≥ 20 discriminated severe physical inactivity and sedentary behavior, respectively. These cutoff points differentiated subjects with COPD regarding all the outcomes assessed in this study.

Diagnosis and management of bronchopulmonary dysplasia
21-10-2021Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common chronic lung disease in infants and is associated with increased mortality, respiratory morbidity, neurodevelopmental impairment, and increased healthcare costs. In parallel with advances made in the field of neonatal intensive care, the phenotype of BPD has evolved from a fibrocystic disease affecting late preterm infants to one of impaired parenchymal development and dysregulated vascular growth predominantly affecting infants born before 29...