Search

International audience; Lung hyperinflation may alter the pattern of ventilatory reflexes in chronic respiratory disorders. The aim of thestudy was to test the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on ventilatory responses to mechanicalstimulation of the trachea.

International audience; In healthy Vietnamese children the respiratory resistance has been suggested to be similar at 110 cm height but larger at 130 cm when compared with data in Caucasians from the literature, suggesting smaller airways in older Vietnamese children (Vu et al., 2008). The hypothesis tested here is whether the difference in airway resistance remains consistent throughout growth, and if it is larger in adult Vietnamese than in Caucasians. Airway resistance and Functional Residual Capacity were measured in healthy young Caucasian and Vietnamese adults in their respective native country using identical equipment and protocols. Ninety five subjects in Vietnam (60 males) and 101 in France (41 males) were recruited. Airway resistance was significantly larger in Vietnamese than in Caucasians and in females than in males, consistent with difference in body dimensions. Specific airway resistance however was not different by ethnicity or gender. The findings do not support the hypothesis that airway size at adult age – once normalized for lung volume – differs between Vietnamese and Caucasians.

International audience; Quality of life and prognosis of patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) often depend on the degree of lung function impairment. This study was designed to assess the respective prevalence of ventilatory restriction, hypoxaemia and hypercapnia in MD1 patients and to determine whether postural changes in lung function could contribute to the early diagnosis of poor respiratory outcome.Fifty-eight patients (42.6 ± 12.9 years) with MD1 were prospectively evaluated from April 2008 to June 2010 to determine their supine and upright lung function and arterial blood gases.The prevalence of ventilatory restriction was 36% and increased with the severity of muscular disability (from 7.7% to 70.6%). The prevalence of hypoxaemia and hypercapnia was 37.9% and 25.9%, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that the supine fall in FEV1 was the only variable associated with ventilatory restriction, hypoxaemia and hypercapnia.Our data indicate that supine evaluation of lung function could be helpful to predict poor respiratory outcome, which is closely correlated with hypoxaemia and/or hypercapnia.