scholarly journals Large endotracheal tumour presenting as severe COPD: flow–volume loop analysis, not always a straightforward diagnostic test

2018 ◽  
pp. bcr-2018-226430
Author(s):  
Iliya P Amaza ◽  
Swan Lee ◽  
Rolando Sanchez

The flow–volume loop (FVL) analysis is typically helpful in establishing the diagnosis of airway obstruction caused by endobronchial lesions. In this report, we describe a patient with emphysema and tobacco abuse who presented with chronic dry cough and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refractory to standard therapy. The initial FVL showed a relatively normal forced expiratory peak flow shape followed by a smooth flattening of the expiratory curve on spirometry, a pattern consistent with distal airway obstruction as seen in severe asthma or COPD. The patient was later found to have a large endotracheal mass. This atypical presentation, along with the unusual FVL, led to a significant delay in the diagnosis of the tracheal mass. A high level of suspicion is needed to diagnose variable intrathoracic airway obstruction in patients presenting with severe asthma or COPD who fail to improve with standard therapy.

2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (2) ◽  
pp. R479-R484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Sharafkhaneh ◽  
Todd M. Officer ◽  
Sheila Goodnight-White ◽  
Joseph R. Rodarte ◽  
Aladin M. Boriek

During forced vital capacity maneuvers in subjects with expiratory flow limitation, lung volume decreases during expiration both by air flowing out of the lung (i.e., exhaled volume) and by compression of gas within the thorax. As a result, a flow-volume loop generated by using exhaled volume is not representative of the actual flow-volume relationship. We present a novel method to take into account the effects of gas compression on flow and volume in the first second of a forced expiratory maneuver (FEV1). In addition to oral and esophageal pressures, we measured flow and volume simultaneously using a volume-displacement plethysmograph and a pneumotachograph in normal subjects and patients with expiratory flow limitation. Expiratory flow vs. plethysmograph volume signals was used to generate a flow-volume loop. Specialized software was developed to estimate FEV1 corrected for gas compression (NFEV1). We measured reproducibility of NFEV1 in repeated maneuvers within the same session and over a 6-mo interval in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Our results demonstrate that NFEV1 significantly correlated with FEV1, peak expiratory flow, lung expiratory resistance, and total lung capacity. During intrasession, maneuvers with the highest and lowest FEV1 showed significant statistical difference in mean FEV1 ( P < 0.005), whereas NFEV1 from the same maneuvers were not significantly different from each other ( P > 0.05). Furthermore, variability of NFEV1 measurements over 6 mo was <5%. We concluded that our method reliably measures the effect of gas compression on expiratory flow.


1994 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 954-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Misiolek ◽  
D. Ziora ◽  
K. Oklek ◽  
G. Namyslowski

AbstractAnatomical and functional estimations of the upper airways in patients after partial laryngectomies (cordectomy, hemilaryngectomy, enlarged hemilaryngectomy) carried out due to cancer are discussed in this paper. The post-operative lumen of the larynx and the trachea were estimated by radiological examination. The coefficient larynx/trachea (L/T) was proposed to describe fixed obstruction.At the same time, all patients underwent spirometric examinations. Inspiratory and expiratory parameters of the flow-volume loop were evaluated. In 39 patients the L/T coefficient was lower than in a group of patients with chronic bronchitis (P<0.05). Also inspiratory and some expiratory parameters of the flow–volume loop decreased in contrast to the group with chronic bronchitis. All results showed the usefulness of radiological and spirometric methods in detecting upper airway obstructions and confirmed their fixed character. The influence of the area of operation on the degree of upper airway obstruction was emphasized.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Rochester ◽  
Claudia Mazzà ◽  
Arne Mueller ◽  
Brian Caulfield ◽  
Marie McCarthy ◽  
...  

Health care has had to adapt rapidly to COVID-19, and this in turn has highlighted a pressing need for tools to facilitate remote visits and monitoring. Digital health technology, including body-worn devices, offers a solution using digital outcomes to measure and monitor disease status and provide outcomes meaningful to both patients and health care professionals. Remote monitoring of physical mobility is a prime example, because mobility is among the most advanced modalities that can be assessed digitally and remotely. Loss of mobility is also an important feature of many health conditions, providing a read-out of health as well as a target for intervention. Real-world, continuous digital measures of mobility (digital mobility outcomes or DMOs) provide an opportunity for novel insights into health care conditions complementing existing mobility measures. Accepted and approved DMOs are not yet widely available. The need for large collaborative efforts to tackle the critical steps to adoption is widely recognised. Mobilise-D is an example. It is a multidisciplinary consortium of 34 institutions from academia and industry funded through the European Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking. Members of Mobilise-D are collaborating to address the critical steps for DMOs to be adopted in clinical trials and ultimately health care. To achieve this, the consortium has developed a roadmap to inform the development, validation and approval of DMOs in Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and recovery from proximal femoral fracture. Here we aim to describe the proposed approach and provide a high-level view of the ongoing and planned work of the Mobilise-D consortium. Ultimately, Mobilise-D aims to stimulate widespread adoption of DMOs through the provision of device agnostic software, standards and robust validation in order to bring digital outcomes from concept to use in clinical trials and health care.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (137) ◽  
pp. 451-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Cazzola ◽  
Luigino Calzetta ◽  
Clive Page ◽  
Josè Jardim ◽  
Alexander G. Chuchalin ◽  
...  

In order to clarify the possible role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in the treatment of patients with chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we have carried out a meta-analysis testing the available evidence that NAC treatment may be effective in preventing exacerbations of chronic bronchitis or COPD and evaluating whether there is a substantial difference between the responses induced by low (≤600 mg per day) and high (>600 mg per day) doses of NAC.The results of the present meta-analysis (13 studies, 4155 COPD patients, NAC n=1933; placebo or controls n=2222) showed that patients treated with NAC had significantly and consistently fewer exacerbations of chronic bronchitis or COPD (relative risk 0.75, 95% CI 0.66–0.84; p<0.01), although this protective effect was more apparent in patients without evidence of airway obstruction. However, high doses of NAC were also effective in patients suffering from COPD diagnosed using spirometric criteria (relative risk 0.75, 95% CI 0.68–0.82; p=0.04). NAC was well tolerated and the risk of adverse reactions was not dose-dependent (low doses relative risk 0.93, 95% CI 0.89–0.97; p=0.40; high doses relative risk 1.11, 95% CI 0.89–1.39; p=0.58).The strong signal that comes from this meta-analysis leads us to state that if a patient suffering from chronic bronchitis presents a documented airway obstruction, NAC should be administered at a dose of ≥1200 mg per day to prevent exacerbations, while if a patient suffers from chronic bronchitis, but is without airway obstruction, a regular treatment of 600 mg per day seems to be sufficient.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 2575-2579
Author(s):  
Iryna O. Khramtsova ◽  
Maria A. Derbak ◽  
Taras M. Ganich ◽  
Oleksandr O. Boldizhar ◽  
Yana V. Lazur

The aim: Was increase the effectiveness of treatment in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) comorbid with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by using ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in combination with ademethionine. Materials and methods: Under observation was 98 patients with a diagnosis of NAFLD and COPD group II or their combination. Patients were divided into 3 groups: 1 (n = 36) – COPD + NASH – in addition to standard COPD therapy received UDCA 15 mg / kg / day – 6 months and ademethionine 1000 mg IV once a day for 10 days, followed by oral administration of 500 mg 2 times per day – 20 days, and group 2 (n = 32) – COPD + hepatic steatosis – in addition to standard therapy – UDCA 15 mg / kg / day – 6 months. Group 3 (n = 30) – COPD received standard therapy for COPD. Results: UDCA with ademethionine on the background of standard COPD therapy reduces the clinical manifestations of NAFLD and normalizes liver function. The combination of UDCA with ademethionine not only has a positive effect on the course of NAFLD, but also reduces the intensity of dyspnea, systemic inflammation, improves the external respiration function and reduces anxiety and depression. Patients receiving UDCA + ademethionine for 6 months of follow-up had no exacerbations of COPD. Conclusions: UDCA in combination with ademethionine in COPD courses have a positive effect on the course of NAFLD, and also reduces the intensity of dyspnea, improves the external respiratory function and reduces the frequency of COPD hospitalization.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document