How Frequent Are Asthma Exacerbations in a Pediatric Primary Care Setting and Do Written Asthma Action Plans Help in Their Management?

Purpose. In the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, the expert panel recommends that a written asthma action plan be provided for all patients with asthma. Studies evaluating the usefulness of the asthma action plan in children are limited. We aim to determine exacerbation frequency and usefulness of the asthma action plan in managing exacerbations that occur in a pediatric primary care setting. Methods. Caretakers of asthmatic children attending the general pediatric clinic in an inner-city hospital completed a one-page questionnaire covering topics such as asthma severity, frequency of exacerbations, and possession/usefulness of an asthma action plan. Although controversy exists over the definition of yellow and red zone exacerbations, we defined the yellow zone as symptoms that require albuterol more than three times a day or more than two nights in succession. The red zone was defined as symptoms requiring systemic corticosteroids and/or an urgent physician visit. Results. Seventy of 75 subjects completed the survey. Almost 80% of respondents carried the diagnosis of persistent asthma, whereas the remainder had intermittent asthma. Exacerbation frequency over a 3-month period was determined. Approximately 80% of children experienced at least one yellow zone episode: 42% had one or two yellow zone episodes, and 39.6% had between three and five episodes. Sixty-three percent of patients did not experience a single red zone exacerbation. Almost 75% (44 of 59) of subjects possessed an asthma action plan. Ninety percent (37 of 41) of respondents with action plans found the plan to be useful in managing exacerbations. Conclusion. Approximately four of every five asthmatic children seen in this primary care setting experienced a yellow zone exacerbation at least once during a 3-month period. One third experienced at least one red zone episode. Nine of every 10 caretakers with an action plan reported the asthma action plan to be of value in managing exacerbations.     

Characteristics of Acute Asthma Patients Attended Frequently Compared with Those Attended Only Occasionally in an Emergency Department

Asthma patients that depend on emergency department (ED) services are generally considered to have extremely poor disease control and prognosis. It is important to identify characteristics related to poor disease control and frequent visits to the ED to apply appropriate clinical management. This study comprised a cross-sectional survey of consecutive patients with asthma exacerbation (age ≥12 years) presenting at the adult ED of a large, tertiary care, university-affiliated hospital over a 2-month period. The frequent visitors (FV) were defined by ≥3 visits to the ED in the preceding year, and the occasional visitors (OV) by ≤2 visits. Eighty-six patients (61 females and 25 males) were included in the study (mean age 38 ± 18 years). Of these patients, 51.2% were FV and 48.8% were OV. Sixty-nine percent had annual income lower than A$3000 and 66.3% had ≤8 years of the formal education. Only 18.6% had used inhaled corticosteroids, 79.1% identified the asthma attack severity, 70.9% increased or initiated inhaled β-agonist, 20.9% increased or initiated steroid therapy, and 55.8% had an asthma action plan for attack. The number of hospital admissions in past year (OR 4.3, P = .02), use of home nebulizer (OR 3.6, P = .05) and the lack of a written asthma action plan (OR 3.3, P = .03) were independently associated with frequent visits to the ED. We conclude that a substantial proportion of the patients that visit the ED are FV. These patients are more likely to have hospital admission in the past year, to use a home nebulizer, and to lack a written asthma action plan. They should be considered the most important target for asthma education.     

慢性阻塞性肺疾病的新定义及临床诊疗建议——基于2022年《柳叶刀》文件解读

慢性阻塞性肺疾病(以下简称慢阻肺)是一种常见的慢性气道异质性疾病。近年来,尽管国内外慢阻肺相关研究不断深入,管理日趋完善,但仍有许多难点亟待解决。2022年9月,《柳叶刀》杂志发布《消除慢阻肺之路》,该文件针对慢阻肺的认识、诊断、评估和个体化治疗等方面提出了新理念并提供临床诊疗指导。本文重点对该文件中慢阻肺的分类、诊断标准及诊断建议、慢阻肺的急性加重和迈向消除慢阻肺5个方面进行介绍和解读,以期为我国临床工作者开展慢阻肺相关研究和管理提供一定的参考及启示。     

慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者外周血单个核细胞CD36 mRNA、血清ApoE水平对急性加重期发生的预测价值

目的：分析慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者外周血单个核细胞（PBMCs）白细胞分化抗原36（CD36）信使核糖核酸（mRNA）、血清载脂蛋白E（ApoE）水平对急性加重期发生的预测价值。方法：选取2021年6月-2022年5月在湖州市中心医院就诊的COPD患者96例,其中急性加重期COPD患者为AECOPD组（n=50）,稳定期COPD患者为稳定组（n=46）,选取健康人群40例为对照组。检测所有受试者血清炎性因子[肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素（IL）-6、IL-1β、C反应蛋白（CRP）]、ApoE、肺功能指标[第1秒用力呼气容积与用力肺活量的比值（FEV1/FVC）、第1秒用力呼气容积占预计值百分比（FEV1%pred）]和PBMCs中CD36 mRNA水平;分析COPD患者PBMCs中CD36 mRNA、血清ApoE水平与炎性因子、肺功能指标的相关性以及PBMCs中CD36 mRNA、血清ApoE对COPD患者急性加重期发生的预测价值。结果：对照组、稳定组、AECOPD组吸烟史比例、TNF-α、IL-6、IL-1β、CRP、PBMCs中CD36 mRNA和血清ApoE水平依次升高,FEV1/FVC、FEV1%pred水平依次降低（P＜0.05）;COPD患者PBMCs中CD36 mRNA与血清ApoE水平呈正相关（P＜0.05）,COPD患者PBMCs中CD36 mRNA、血清ApoE水平均与血清TNF-α、IL-6、IL-1β、CRP呈正相关（P＜0.05）,与FEV1/FVC、FEV1%pred呈负相关（P＜0.05）;PBMCs中CD36 mRNA单独、血清ApoE单独、二者联合预测COPD患者急性加重期发生的曲线下面积（AUC）分别为0.887、0.871、0.966,二者联合预测的AUC高于CD36 mRNA、ApoE单独预测的AUC（P＜0.05）。结论：COPD患者PBMCs中CD36 mRNA和血清ApoE均呈高表达,二者对COPD患者急性加重期发生具有一定的预测价值。     

Psychological aspects of Crohn's disease

This is a critical review of 16 studies reporting a relationship between Crohn's disease and psychological variables. The studies reviewed indicate a relationship between the psychological variables of stressful life events, personality characteristics, and psychopathology and the onset and/or exacerbation of Crohn's symptoms. Personality characteristics such as depression, anxiety, and dependency are frequently reported as are the occurrence of stressful life events and the presence of psychopathology. The nature of the relationship is not explained by the research to date; however, the findings summarized in this report indicate that additional investigation into this association is warranted. A plan for such research is suggested.     

The Effect of Intravenous Magnesium Sulphate as an Adjuvant in the Treatment of Acute Exacerbations of COPD in the Emergency Department: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

BackgroundAcute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are serious complications that often require immediate intervention in an emergency department (ED). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intravenous magnesium sulphate as an adjuvant in the treatment of AECOPD in the ED.MethodsIn a double-blind, randomized clinical trial, a total of 60 patients with AECOPD presenting to the ED of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari, Iran, were included. The study was conducted between September 2016 and February 2018. Eligible patients were randomly allocated into two groups of intervention and control. Patients in the intervention and control groups received intravenous infusion of magnesium sulfate (2 gr) or normal saline over 30 minutes, respectively. For all patients, Borgdyspnea score, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) result and clinical variables of interest were evaluated before the beginning of the intervention, and also 45 minutes and 6 hours after the commencement of intervention.ResultsRegardless of time of evaluation, pulse rate (PR), respiratory rate (RR) and Borg score in intervention group was lower than control group. Also, FEV1 and SPO2 were greater in intervention group compared to control group. However, these differences were not statistically significant (between-subject differences or group effect) (p<0.001). The trends of FEV1, SPO2, PR, RR and Borg score were similar between two groups of study (no interaction effect; P>0.05).ConclusionAccording to the results of this study, it seems that using intravenous magnesium sulfate has no significant effect on SPO2, FEV1, RR, and PR of patients with AECOPD who presented to ED.     

Undernutrition is associated with mortality,exacerbation, and poorer quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies

Impaired nutrition status is recognized as a risk factor for worse clinical outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aims of this study were to investigate how undernutrition is diagnosed, its prevalence, and whether there is an association between this condition and clinical outcomes in patients with COPD. The search for this systematic review of observational studies (PROSPERO: CRD42020191888) was performed in the PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases, with no date or language restrictions. The studies had to report data on the diagnosis of undernutrition and its association with mortality, exacerbation, length of hospital stay, or quality of life in adult patients with COPD. A meta-analysis with a random-effects model was performed to combine data. Forty-nine studies were included (20 of them classified as having a low risk of bias), and the most common diagnostic method of undernutrition was body mass index (BMI) (n = 36). The pooled prevalence of undernutrition was equal to 20% (95% CI, 0.15–0.25; I² = 100%), and it was associated with mortality (risk ratio = 1.97; 95% CI, 1.55–2.50; I² = 98%), exacerbation (risk ratio = 1.73; 95% CI, 1.03–2.91; I² = 96%), and poorer quality of life (mean difference = 8.25; 95% CI, 5.40–11.10; I² = 79%). For all outcomes, the certainty of evidence was very low. In conclusion, undernutrition is prevalent and is associated with poorer outcomes in patients with COPD. However, undernutrition is mainly diagnosed by BMI, which underreports its prevalence, and the certainty of the evidence is very low.     

基于主成分分析下慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重频率的判别分析

目的 对慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者（COPD)）一般资料及临床资料进行主成分分析和判别分析,研究影响疾病急性加重频率的因素,以预测患者后续发病频率。 方法 选取我院2016年1月～2017年10月收治的350例COPD患者为研究对象,收集患者例入院时一般资料、24h内动脉血气分析,首次降钙素原（PCT）含量、C反应蛋白（CRP）含量及血常规,及入院结束治疗时的抗生素治疗时间、住院时间。对入选患者随访1年,并明确1年内慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重（AECOPD）次数,根据疾病加重次数将患者分为三组（A组：≤1次;B组：＜3次;C组：≥3次）。比较三组一般资料及临床资料的差异,利用因子分析提取上述临床指标及一般资料主成分,并利用主成分对AECOPD患者急性加重频数行判别分析,比较提取主成分前后判别分析率差异。结果 共纳入患者321例,其中A组105例、B组105例、C组111例,三组一般资料及临床资料除吸烟年无明显差异,其余指标组间比较,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。从临床指标及一般资料中共提取5个主成分,综合信息提取率833%。一般资料及临床指标判别分析提示,总体判别正确率为748%,A、B、C组三组正确判别率分别为88.6%、65.7%、70.3%;利用提取的主成分进行判别分析提示,总体判别正确率72.0%,A、B、C组三组正确判别率分别为971%、60%、595%。结论 利用常见一般资料及临床资料进行判别分析,可预测患者发病频数,主成分分析的判别正确率与综合资料判别正确率间无明显差异。     

慢性阻塞性肺疾病急性加重期使用激素治疗与低血钾的关系分析

目的 探讨慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)患者在病情加重时使用激素治疗与低血钾的关系.方法 回顾性分析73例COPD急性加重期使用激素治疗患者,按体重指数(BMI)进行分类比较,了解其与低血钾的关系.结果 超重患者低血钾发生率为31%, 不超重患者为6%,经χ2检验P＜0.05.结论 超重患者出现低血钾的机会较大,应多监测,及时补充和纠正,避免严重心律失常事件的发生.