introduction: breathing rehabilitation techniques are designed to reduce symptoms, decrease disability, increase participation in physical and social activities, and improve the overall quality of life for individuals with chronic respiratory disease. however, the role of these techniques remains unclear. this study examined the effects of pursed-lip breathing (plb) education on the respiratory...

introduction:the overlap syndrome, consisting ofobstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (osahs) and chronic obstructvie pulmonary disease (copd) is a major problem in copd patients. oshas corresponds to the likelihood of systemic hypertension.the present study was aimed to evaluate the association between apnea-hypopnea index and diastolic blood presssure (dbp) in overlap  patients. materials...

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an important cause of heart failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The pro brain natriuretic peptide N-terminal (NT-proBNP) has been suggested as a noninvasive marker to evaluate ventricular function. However, there is no evidence to support the use of NT-proBNP in monitoring the benefits of vasodilators in COPD induced PH. Thus, we used NT-proBN...

QUESTION What factors predict postoperative pulmonary and pleural complications following aortic valve replacement? DESIGN Retrospective study. PARTICIPANTS One thousand consecutive patients who underwent aortic valve replacement with a pericardial valve between 1986 and 2006. Of these, 610 underwent also coronary artery surgery. OUTCOME MEASURES Thirty putative predictors were investigat...

Pesticide exposure can cause many different health effects, from acute problems such as dermatitis and asthma exacerbation to chronic problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. The resulting clinical presentations are undifferentiated, and specific knowledge of the links to environmental exposures is often required for effective diagnosis. In this article we illustrate t...

This article reviews a selection of scientific presentations in the area of clinical problems, which were presented at the 2013 European Respiratory Society Annual Congress in Barcelona, Spain. This article discusses the most relevant topics of interest in the field of clinical respiratory medicine, including breakthrough reports and studies of particular interest to the healthcare professional...

unilateral pulmonary artery agenesis (upaa) is a rare congenital anomaly during the 4 th  week of gestational age. it is defined as an absence of pulmonary parenchyma and its supporting artery. a 9-year-old girl was admitted to our hospital because of chronic cough. chest examination showed a decrement in lung sound of right hemi-thorax with expiratory wheeze. chest radiography (cxr) revealed a...