Acute Respiratory Deterioration (acute + respiratory_deterioration)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Clinical characteristics of acute respiratory deterioration in pulmonary fibrosis associated with lung cancer following anti-cancer therapy

RESPIROLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Kazutoshi ISOBE
ABSTRACT Background and objective: To clarify the clinical characteristics and risk factors for acute respiratory deterioration following anti-cancer therapy in patients with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and lung cancer. Methods: Patients with primary lung cancer and PF were identified by review of medical records. Of the 865 consecutive patients with primary lung cancer who had been treated between June 1999 and September 2007, 53 were diagnosed as having PF. This retrospective study analysed the prevalence of and risk factors for acute respiratory deterioration after treatment of lung cancer in these patients. Results: Acute respiratory deterioration was found in 10 (24%) of the 41 patients who received anti-cancer therapy, and six (60%) of these patients died of respiratory failure. The incidence of acute respiratory deterioration was 28% (8/29) after chemotherapy and 16% (2/12) after surgery. Mortality after acute respiratory deterioration was 50% (4/8) among patients with idiopathic PF and 100% (2/2) among the patients with PF associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a higher smoking index (cigarettes smoked per day × years of smoking) was a significant risk factor for acute respiratory deterioration (odds ratio: 1.002, P = 0.025). Conclusions: Patients with lung cancer who have pre-existing PF should be carefully managed because of their high risk for developing acute respiratory deterioration after anti-cancer therapy. [source]


Physician attitudes towards ventilatory support for spinal muscular atrophy type 1 in Australasia

JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 12 2007
Nimeshan Geevasinga
Background: Without ventilatory support, premature death from respiratory insufficiency is virtually universal in infants with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1). With mechanical ventilation, however, long-term survival has been reported from numerous international centres. We aimed to characterize physician attitudes to the various forms of ventilatory support for children with SMA1. Methods: We surveyed neurologists, respiratory physicians, clinical geneticists and intensivists from all major paediatric hospitals in Australia and New Zealand regarding their views on ventilatory management of SMA1. Results: Ninety-two of the 157 (59%) physicians surveyed replied. Respondents included 16 clinical geneticists, 19 intensive care physicians, 28 neurologists and 29 respiratory physicians. Almost half (47%) opposed invasive ventilation of children with SMA1 and respiratory failure precipitated by intercurrent illness. The majority (76%) opposed invasive ventilatory support for chronic respiratory failure in SMA1. In contrast, non-invasive ventilation was felt by 85% to be appropriate for acute respiratory deteriorations, with 49% supporting long-term non-invasive ventilatory support. Most physicians felt that decisions regarding ventilation should be made jointly by parents and doctors, and that hospital Clinical Ethics Committees should be involved in the event of discordant opinion regarding further management. A majority felt that a defined hospital policy would be valuable in guiding management of SMA1. Conclusions: Respiratory support in SMA1 is an important issue with significant ethical, financial and resource management implications. Most physicians in Australian and New Zealand oppose invasive ventilatory support for chronic respiratory failure in SMA1. Non-invasive ventilation is an accepted intervention for acute respiratory decompensation and may have a role in the long-term management of SMA1. Clinical Ethics Committees and institutional policies have a place in guiding physicians and parents in the management of children with SMA1. [source]