SLP: A zero-contact non-invasive method for pulmonary function testing

Structured Light Plethysmography (SLP) is a novel non-invasive method that uses structured light to perform pulmonary function testing that does not require physical contact with a patient. The technique produces an estimate of chest wall volume changes over time. A patient is observed continuously by two cameras and a known pattern of light (i.e. structured light) is projected onto the chest using an off-the-shelf projector. Corner features from the projected light pattern are extracted, tracked and brought into correspondence for both camera views over successive frames. A novel self calibration algorithm recovers the intrinsic and extrinsic camera parameters from these point correspondences. This information is used to reconstruct a surface approximation of the chest wall and several novel ideas for 'cleaning up' the reconstruction are used. The resulting volume and derived statistics (e.g. FVC, FEV) agree very well with data taken with a spirometer. © 2010. The copyright of this document resides with its authors.

Socio-demographic factors, smoking, symptoms, morbidities and pulmonary function and quality of life in individuals with a heavy smoking history

Objective: To determine which socio-demographic, exposure, morbidity and symptom variables are associated with health-related quality of life among former and current heavy smokers. Methods: Cross sectional data from 2537 participants were studied. All participants were at ≥2% risk of developing lung cancer within 6 years. Linear and logistic regression models utilizing a multivariable fractional polynomial selection process identified variables associated with health-related quality of life, measured by the EQ-5D. Results: Upstream and downstream associations between smoking cessation and higher health-related quality of life were evident. Significant upstream associations, such as education level and current working status and were explained by the addition of morbidities and symptoms to regression models. Having arthritis, decreased forced expiratory volume in one second, fatigue, poor appetite or dyspnea were most highly and commonly associated with decreased HRQoL. Discussion: Upstream factors such as educational attainment, employment status and smoking cessation should be targeted to prevent decreased health-related quality of life. Practitioners should focus treatment on downstream factors, especially symptoms, to improve health-related quality of life.

Effect of respiratory muscle training on pulmonary function in preoperative preparation of tobacco smokers

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito da utilização de um programa de treinamento específico dos músculos respiratórios sobre a função pulmonar em indivíduos tabagistas. MÉTODOS: Foram estudados 50 indivíduos tabagistas assintomáticos com idade superior a 30 anos, nos seguintes momentos: A0 - avaliação inicial seguida do protocolo de exercícios respiratórios; A1 - reavaliação após 10 minutos da aplicação do protocolo; e A2 -reavaliação final após duas semanas de treinamento utilizando o mesmo protocolo três vezes por semana. A avaliação foi realizada através das medidas de pressões respiratórias máximas (PImax. e PEmax.), picos de fluxo respiratórios (PFI e PFE), ventilação voluntária máxima (VVM), capacidade vital Forçada (CVF) e Volume expiratório forçado no primeiro segundo (VEF1). RESULTADOS: Não houve melhora na CVF e VEF1 da avaliação inicial para a final. Houve aumento significativo das variáveis PFI, PFE, VVM e PImax nas avaliações A1 e A2. A variável PEmax. aumentou somente na avaliação A2. CONCLUSÃO: A aplicação de protocolo de exercícios respiratórios com e sem carga adicional em indivíduos tabagistas produziu melhora imediata na performance dos músculos respiratórios, mas esta melhora foi mais acentuada após duas semanas de exercício.

Cardiovascular risk and mortality in end-stage renal disease patients undergoing dialysis: sleep study, pulmonary function, respiratory mechanics, upper airway collapsibility, autonomic nervous activity, depression, anxiety, stress and quality of life: a prospective, double blind, randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most serious public health problems. The increasing prevalence of CKD in developed and developing countries has led to a global epidemic. The hypothesis proposed is that patients undergoing dialysis would experience a marked negative influence on physiological variables of sleep and autonomic nervous system activity, compromising quality of life.Methods/Design: A prospective, consecutive, double blind, randomized controlled clinical trial is proposed to address the effect of dialysis on sleep, pulmonary function, respiratory mechanics, upper airway collapsibility, autonomic nervous activity, depression, anxiety, stress and quality of life in patients with CKD. The measurement protocol will include body weight (kg); height (cm); body mass index calculated as weight/height(2); circumferences (cm) of the neck, waist, and hip; heart and respiratory rates; blood pressures; Mallampati index; tonsil index; heart rate variability; maximum ventilatory pressures; negative expiratory pressure test, and polysomnography (sleep study), as well as the administration of specific questionnaires addressing sleep apnea, excessive daytime sleepiness, depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life.Discussion: CKD is a major public health problem worldwide, and its incidence has increased in part by the increased life expectancy and increasing number of cases of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Sleep disorders are common in patients with renal insufficiency. Our hypothesis is that the weather weight gain due to volume overload observed during interdialytic period will influence the degree of collapsibility of the upper airway due to narrowing and predispose to upper airway occlusion during sleep, and to investigate the negative influences of haemodialysis in the physiological variables of sleep, and autonomic nervous system, and respiratory mechanics and thereby compromise the quality of life of patients.

Pulmonary function in obese vs non-obese cats

Obesity is a risk factor in the development of several respiratory diseases. Lung volumes tend to be decreased, especially expiratory reserve volume, increasing expiratory flow limitation during tidal breathing. Barometric whole-body plethysmography is a non-invasive pulmonary function test that allows a dynamic study of breathing patterns. The objective of this study was to compare pulmonary function variables between obese and non-obese cats through the use of barometric whole-body plethysmography. Nine normal-weight and six obese cats were placed in the plethysmograph chamber, and different respiratory variables were measured. There was a significant decrease in tidal volume per kilogram (P=0.003), minute volume per kilogram (P=0.001) and peak inspiratory and expiratory flows per kilogram (P=0.001) in obese cats compared with non-obese cats. Obesity failed to demonstrate a significant increase in bronchoconstriction index variable enhanced pause (Penh), as previously reported in humans and dogs. The results show that feline obesity impairs pulmonary function in cats, although a significant increase in bronchoconstriction indexes was not observed. Non-invasive barometric whole-body plethysmography can help characterise mechanical dysfunction of the airways in obese cats.

Joint effects of pulmonary function and aerobic power on survival in a cohort of healthy adults

Objective measurements of physical fitness and pulmonary function are related individually to long-term survival, both in healthy people and in those who are ill. These factors are furthermore known to be related to one another physiologically in people with pulmonary disease, because advanced pulmonary disease causes ventilatory limitation to exercise. Healthy people do not have ventilatory limitation to exercise, but rather have ventilatory reserve. The relationship between pulmonary function and exercise performance in healthy people is minimal. Exercise performance has been shown to modify the effect of pulmonary function on mortality in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but the relationship between these factors in healthy people has not been studied and is not known. The purpose of this study is to quantify the joint effects of pulmonary function and exercise performance as these bear on mortality in a cohort of healthy adults. This investigation is an historical cohort study over 20 years of follow-up of 29,624 adults who had complete preventive medicine, spirometry and treadmill stress examinations at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas.^ In 20 years of follow-up, there were 738 evaluable deaths. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV$\sb1$) percent of predicted, treadmill time in minutes percent of predicted, age, gender, body mass index, baseline smoking status, serum glucose and serum total cholesterol were all significant, independent predictors of mortality risk. There were no frank interactions, although age had an important increasing effect on the risk associated with smoking when other covariates were controlled for in a proportional-hazards model. There was no confounding effect of exercise performance on pulmonary function. In agreement with the pertinent literature on independent effects, each unit increase in FEV$\sb1$ percent predicted was associated with about eight tenths of a percent reduction in adjusted mortality rate. The concept of physiologic reserve is useful in interpretation of the findings. Since pulmonary function does not limit exercise tolerance in healthy adults, it is reasonable to expect that exercise tolerance would not modify the effect of pulmonary function on mortality. Epidemiologic techniques are useful for elucidating physiological correlates of mortality risk. ^

S-nitrosothiol repletion by an inhaled gas regulates pulmonary function

NO synthases are widely distributed in the lung and are extensively involved in the control of airway and vascular homeostasis. It is recognized, however, that the O2-rich environment of the lung may predispose NO toward toxicity. These Janus faces of NO are manifest in recent clinical trials with inhaled NO gas, which has shown therapeutic benefit in some patient populations but increased morbidity in others. In the airways and circulation of humans, most NO bioactivity is packaged in the form of S-nitrosothiols (SNOs), which are relatively resistant to toxic reactions with O2/O\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}{\mathrm{_{2}^{-}}}\end{equation*}\end{document}. This finding has led to the proposition that channeling of NO into SNOs may provide a natural defense against lung toxicity. The means to selectively manipulate the SNO pool, however, has not been previously possible. Here we report on a gas, O-nitrosoethanol (ENO), which does not react with O2 or release NO and which markedly increases the concentration of indigenous species of SNO within airway lining fluid. Inhalation of ENO provided immediate relief from hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction without affecting systemic hemodynamics. Further, in a porcine model of lung injury, there was no rebound in cardiopulmonary hemodynamics or fall in oxygenation on stopping the drug (as seen with NO gas), and additionally ENO protected against a decline in cardiac output. Our data suggest that SNOs within the lung serve in matching ventilation to perfusion, and can be manipulated for therapeutic gain. Thus, ENO may be of particular benefit to patients with pulmonary hypertension, hypoxemia, and/or right heart failure, and may offer a new therapeutic approach in disorders such as asthma and cystic fibrosis, where the airways may be depleted of SNOs.