OBJECTIVE Compare respiratory health in children born extremely preterm (EP) or with extremely low birthweight (ELBW) nearly one decade apart, hypothesizing that better perinatal management has led to better outcome. DESIGN Fifty-seven (93%) of 61 eligible 11-year old children born in Western Norway in 1999-2000 with gestational age (GA) <28 weeks or birthweight <1000 gram (EP1999-2000) and m...

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a soluble pattern recognition receptor and an acute-phase protein. It has gained attention as a new biomarker reflecting tissue inflammation and damage in a variety of diseases. Aim of this study is to investigate the role of PTX3 in childhood asthma.In total, 260 children (140 patients with asthma and 120 controls) were enrolled. PTX3 levels were measured in sputum supern...

BACKGROUND There is little evidence about the role of Zafirlukast (a highly selective LTD4 antagonist) in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The Zafirlukast can reduce the need for short-acting rescue β2 agonists, produce fewer exacerbations of asthma and increased quality of life as possible benefits treatment for asthma. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of Zafirluka...

BACKGROUND The adverse health effects of occupational exposure to asbestos dust may occur several years after first exposure. The objective of the study was to assess the relationship between lesions in the respiratory system and the factors contributing to occupational exposure to asbestos described in the first medical examination as well as to analyze the factors responsible for the progress...

Background and objective Despite the ongoing intense debate on the definition of airflow limitation by spirometry in the elderly population, there have only been few studies comparing the fixed ratio and the Z-score of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) in terms of long-term mortalities. In this study, we aimed to identify the proper method for accurately de...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the use of the forced expiratory volume in one second/forced expiratory volume in six seconds (FEV1/FEV6) ratio as an alternative to the FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio in the detection of mild airway obstruction. METHODS Reference equations for the Brazilian population in 2006 were used in order to determine the lower limits of normality for the FEV1/FEV6 and FEV...

The relationship between Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) and the Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) is intensively used in diagnosing because of its quantitative description with the index FEV1/FVC. There is not such index for the relationship between airflows (Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) and Maximal Expiratory Flow at xx% of FVC (MEFxx, where xx=75, 50, 25%)). Our aim was to describe tha...

BACKGROUND The aim here was to study acute effects of hemodialysis among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. DESIGN AND SETTING Prospective study in tertiary-level care center. METHODS Fifty ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis were studied. Spirometric pulmonary function tests were performed before and after four-hour hemodialysis sessions. RESULTS The patients' average age was 45....

Background In severe asthma, high doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are used in order to achieve clinical and functional control. This study aimed to evaluate lung function in outpatients (children and adolescents) with severe asthma in Brazil, all of whom were treated with high doses of ICS. We evaluated all spirometry tests together and by ICS dose: 800 and > 800 µg/day. Methods This w...