Predictors and outcomes of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China

Background “Overlap syndrome” refers to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) combined with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and has poorer outcomes than either condition alone. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and possible predictors of overlap syndrome and its association with clinical outcomes in patients with COPD. Methods We assessed the modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (mMRC), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), COPD assessment test (CAT), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and STOP-Bang questionnaire (SBQ) and performed spirometry and full overnight polysomnography in all patients. An apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 events per hour was considered to indicate OSA. Risk factors for OSA in COPD patients were identified by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results A total of 556 patients (66%) had an AHI ≥ 5 events per hour. There were no significant differences in age, sex ratio, mMRC score, smoking index, number of acute exacerbations and hospitalizations in the last year, and prevalence of cor pulmonale between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, CAT score, CCI, ESS, HADS, and SBQ scores, forced expiratory volume (FEV)1, FEV1% pred, FEV1/forced vital capacity ratio, and prevalence of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes were all significantly higher and the prevalence of severe COPD was significantly lower in the COPD-OSA group compared with the COPD group (p < 0.05). BMI, neck circumference, ESS, CAT, CCI, HADS, hypertension, and diabetes were independent risk factors for OSA in COPD patients (p < 0.05). SBQ could be used for OSA screening in patients with COPD. Patients with severe COPD had a lower risk of OSA compared with patients with mild or moderate COPD (β = − 0.459, odds ratio = 0.632, 95% confidence interval 0.401–0.997, p = 0.048). Conclusion Patients with overlap syndrome had a poorer quality of life, more daytime sleepiness, and a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes than patients with COPD alone. BMI, neck circumference, ESS, CAT, CCI, HADS, hypertension, and diabetes were independent risk factors for OSA in patients with COPD. The risk of OSA was lower in patients with severe, compared with mild or moderate COPD.

Morphometric characteristics of sheep and goat fed silage comprising of cassava peel, gamba grass and Mexican sunflower

The constant demand for less expensive and more easily available alternative feed sources for animal production is on the increase. This is particularly true in the tropics, where feed availability varies according to the season. Based on this necessity, this study aims to evaluate the impact of feeding silage to sheep and goats on growth and development. A total of 22 animals comprising of 11 Yankassa breed and 11 West African Dwarf breed were used for the study. The animals were confined and allowed to acclimatize to the environment for about 14 to 21 days, followed by 5 weeks of study. The forage used for silage was Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia) mixed with equal amounts of cassava peel and molasses in different proportions for three different treatments. Body length, neck circumference, height at withers, heart girth, and body weight were significantly higher (p<0.05) in animals fed T3 diets compared to all other diets, while animals on the T2 diet had higher ear length than T3. Except for neck circumference, ear length, and bodyweight of animals raised on diet T1 and the control group were statistically similar, all the test groups were significantly better than the control group in terms of performance. The highest body weight of 16.74 kg was recorded in T3, followed by 15.97 kg in T2, 12.12 kg in T1, and the least value of 10.09 kg in the control group. No apparent adverse effects were noted in the feeding of silage to the animals as the animals were healthy throughout the duration of the study. More research on the use of silage in feeding indigenous goat and sheep breeds is needed to further understand the impact of silage on animal performance and morphometric traits.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MODIFIED MALLAMPATI CLASSIFICATION WITH NECK CIRCUMFERENCE ALONG WITH UPPER LIP BITE TEST IN MORBIDLY OBESE PATIENTS

INTRODUCTION: Anaesthesia in morbidly obese patients can present many challenges. The overriding concern of most anaesthesiologists is airway management, as obese patients have been thought to be at greater risk of difcult airway and/or difcult intubation, when compared with the general population. The term 'difcult airway' has been dened by the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) taskforce as the clinical situation in which a conventionally trained anaesthesiologist experiences problems with mask ventilation or tracheal intubation or both. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES- To assess the positive predictive value,sensitivity and specicity of MMPC, NC along with ULBT and compare it with Cormack Lehane grading intraoperatively. MATERIALS AND METHOD- Preoperative airway assessment of 200 patients posted for surgery under general anaesthesia was carried out to evaluate the usefulness of multiple screening tests in predicting the ease or difculty of laryngoscopy in obese patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Modied Mallampati test grade III or IV, Upper Lip Bite test grade III, Neck Circumference >40cm were considered as predictors of difcult laryngoscopy. Laryngoscopy was considered difcult if the view on laryngoscopy was Cormack and Lehane grade III or IV. The results were evaluated on the basis of sensitivity, specicity, positive and negative predictive value and accuracy of these tests. RESULT- Group A (ULBT+MMPC) identied 65% of the patients with difcult intubation (sensitivity of 92.86 % & specicity of 33.3 %), whereas Group B (ULBT+NC) identied 75% of the patients with difcult airway (sensitivity 93.75% & specicity of 25%). Pearson Correlation analysis was applied to know the correlation between the various tests and the Cormack Lehane Classication, both the groups had p value of 0.001 , which was highly signicant. CONCLUSION-When multiple predictors are taken into consideration there was a considerable reduction in false negatives with signicant improvement in accuracy of test and hence prediction of difcult laryngoscopy was made easy. Application of multiple predictors in combination can reduce the frequency of unanticipated difculty and unnecessary interventions related to over prediction of airway difculty.

Neck Circumference Predicts Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

We aimed to determine whether neck circumference predicts mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure. We performed a prospective multicenter (Italy and Brasil) study carried out from March to December 2020 on 440 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure. Baseline neck circumference was measured. The study outcome was 30- and 60-days mortality. Female and male participants were classified as “large neck” when exceeding fourth-quartile. Patients had a median age of 65 years (IQR 54–76), 68% were male. One-quarter of patients presented with grade-1 or higher obesity. The median neck circumference was 40 cm (IQR 38–43): 38 cm (IQR 36–40) for female and 41 cm (IQR 39–44) for male subjects. “Large neck” patients had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension (63 vs. 48%), diabetes (33 vs. 19%), obesity (26 vs. 14%), and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) (98 vs. 88%). The cumulative mortality rate was 13.1% (n = 52) and 15.9% (n = 63) at 30 and 60 days, respectively. After adjusting for age, BMI, relevant comorbidities, and high C-reactive protein to albumin ratio, “large neck” patients showed a significantly increased risk of death at 30- (adjusted HR 2.50; 95% CI 1.18–5.29; p = 0.017) and 60-days (adjusted HR 2.26; 95% CI 1.14–4.46; p = 0.019). Neck circumference is easy to collect and provides additional prognostic information to BMI. Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure, those with large neck phenotype had a more than double risk of death at 30 and 60 days.

The relationship between neck circumference and gestational diabetes mellitus in Iranian women

Background The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between neck circumference and gestational diabetes. Methods This prospective study was conducted on 372 Iranian pregnant women. The criteria set by the American Diabetes Association through 2 h was used to classify subjects with regard to their gestational diabetes. At the 14–16th weeks of pregnancy, the neck circumference was measured. The maternal and fetal outcomes were measured as well. Results The adjusted logistic regression revealed that neck circumference was a predictor for gestational diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.34; P = 0.002). The ROC analysis depicted that the cut-off for neck circumference in indicating gestational diabetes was 34.3 cm, with the sensitivity of 53% and the specificity of 66%. Conclusion The findings of the present study revealed that the neck circumference of ≥34.3 cm can be deemed as a predictor of gestational diabetes in the case of Iranian pregnant women.

Correlation of Neck Circumference With Abdominal Circumference and Body Mass Index in Patients With Metabolic Syndrome in a Hospital From Northern Peru: A Cross-sectional Study

We aimed to evaluate the correlation of neck circumference with abdominal circumference and body mass index in patients with metabolic syndrome in Chocope, Trujillo. This cross-sectional study included patients with untreated metabolic syndrome. Health professionals measured the anthropometric parameters of participants as per the international guidelines. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and single and multiple regression models were used for analysis. Data from 250 participants showed homogeneous distribution with respect to age, comorbidities, and biochemical properties according to sex. The mean age was 53.6 years. A positive correlation of neck circumference with abdominal circumference (r = 0.6 and 0.74 for females and males, respectively) and body mass index (r = 0.51 and 0.65 for females and males, respectively) was observed. The linear correlation model showed that a 1-cm increase in neck circumference increased the abdominal circumference by 2.20 cm (p < 0.001) and 2.27 cm (p < 0.001) and body mass index by 0.72 kg/m2 (p < 0.001) and 0.94 kg/m2 (p < 0.001) in males and females, respectively, independent of other variables. In participants with metabolic syndrome in this study, neck circumference showed a strong correlation with abdominal circumference and body mass index. This anthropometric parameter can be extremely useful for evaluating obesity among patients with metabolic syndrome.

Correlation between Neck Circumference and Other Anthropometric Measurements in Eight Latin American Countries. Results from ELANS Study

Neck circumference (NC) is being used to identify the risk of chronic diseases. There is a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Latin America, and neck circumference is a simple and practical measurement to assess this, especially in primary health centers. We analyzed the correlation between the NC anthropometric indicator and other anthropometric measurements such as BMI and waist circumference (WC) in eight Latin American cities. We applied Pearson’s correlation to identify the correlate NC with the other anthropometric variables stratified by sex; the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) by sex were evaluated according to the cut-off established with the Youden Index. The strongest correlations between NC and WC were found when stratified by sex (women: r = 0.71; men: r = 0.69, respectively) followed by the correlation between NC and BMI (r = 0.65, both sex). NC cut-off points of 39.0 cm in men and 32.9 cm in women identified those individuals with an increased WC and 39.8 and 33.7 cm, respectively, for a substantial increase in WC. For BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 for men, the cut-off point was 37.5 cm, and for women, it was 33.1 cm, and for BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, the cut-off points were 39.2 and 34.2 cm, for men and women, respectively. Conclusion: NC proved to be a useful, practical, and inexpensive tool that can be used to identify, evaluate, and monitor overweight and obese individuals.