BACKGROUND This study investigated whether the inspiratory muscles are susceptible to fatigue during acute airway narrowing because of increased airway resistance and hyperinflation. METHODS Asthmatic subjects performed up to four series (on separate days) of 18 maximal static inspiratory efforts of 10 seconds' duration with 10 second rest intervals (50% duty cycle; total duration six minutes...

To assess the role of emphysema on the hyperinflation in chronic asthma, we studied 20 subjects with irreversible airflow limitation. Ten of the subjects had asthma and had never smoked; the other ten were cigarette smokers. Pulmonary function testing and chest computed tomography (CT) scans were performed on all subjects. Emphysema was graded using a score based on the percentage of lung invol...

Severe emphysema radically diminishes quality of life. The disease is a result of destruction of lung parenchyma and is most commonly associated with cigarette smoke exposure or the congenital absence of α1-antitrypsin. The elastic fibres of the lung, which in a healthy state strive to retract the lungs, are particularly affected. The inward force determined by these fibres is balanced by the c...

Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable but usually progressive obstructive lung disease most often associated with tobacco smoking in ‘developed’ countries and accentuated by exposure to biomass fuel smoke in ‘developing’ countries [1]. COPD affects more than 200 million people worldwide. It is the third leading cause of mortality in the USA [2]...

BACKGROUND Evidence has been provided that high-dose indacaterol (300 μg) can reduce lung hyperinflation in moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). AIM To study whether low-dose indacaterol (150 μg) also reduces lung hyperinflation in comparison with the recommended dose of tiotropium (18 μg) in moderate COPD. METHODS This was a multicenter, randomized, blinded, 3-p...

A case of a 19-year-old with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is presented. This case illustrates genetic (severe alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency) and host factors (such as developmental diaphragmatic hernia and the innate response to injury), and environmental (high oxidative stress and lung injury) interactions that lead to severe chronic obstructive lung disease. The development o...

BACKGROUND Dynamic hyperinflation, caused by expiratory flow limitation, markedly increases resting end-expiratory lung volume (functional residual capacity) in many COPD patients. OBJECTIVE To determine the impact and duration of impact of CPAP on hyperinflation and airway resistance in patients with stable COPD. METHODS In a case series, 21 patients underwent CPAP at 8 cm H(2)O for 15 min...

introduction: according  to  the  latest  statistical  and  epidemiological  studies,  copd  will  become  the  fourth  leading  cause  of  death  in  2030  worldwide.  scientists  are  studying  on  methods  to  diagnose  copd  in  the  patients  in  early  stages,  because  it  is  a  curable  and  preventable  disease  in  early  stages.  in  this  study,  evidences  of  hyperinflation  on  ...

Deviation of end-expiratory lung volume from the elastic equilibrium volume of the respiratory system is recognized as a cardinal feature in mechanically-ventilated patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and acute ventilatory failure (AVF). The presence of dynamic hyperinflation implies that alveolar pressure remains positive throughout expiration. At the end of the e...