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Abstract Introduction Respiratory center (RC) dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity-hypoventilation syndrome (OHS), and often requires treatment with home non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Our objective was to measure the effect of NIV on RC function in patients with OHS, and the factors that determine such an effect. Methods We performed a prospective, repeated measures study to evaluate hypercapnia response (HR) by determining the p01/pEtCO 2 ratio slope at baseline and after 6 months of treatment with NIV in a group of OHS patients. A threshold of 0.22 cmH 2 O/mmHg had previously been established in a control group, in order to differentiate optimal RC response from suboptimal RC response. Results A total of 36 cases were included, 19 men (52%) aged 65 (SD 9) years, 63% of whom had p01/pEtCO 2 below the reference value. Baseline p01/pEtCO 2 was 0.17 (SD: 0.14) cmH 2 O/mmHg and, after 6 months of NIV, 0.30 (SD: 0.22) cm H 2 O/mmHg ( P =0.011). After 6 months of treatment with NIV, depressed RC function persisted in 12 cases (33%). Conclusion In total, 63% of OHS patients had RC dysfunction. The application of NIV improves RC function but not in all cases. Resumen Introducción En la patogenia del síndrome de obesidad-hipoventilación (SOH) se ha postulado una disfunción del centro respiratorio, que muchas veces precisa la utilización de ventilación no invasiva (VNI) en domicilio para el tratamiento. Nuestro objetivo fue medir el efecto de la VNI en la función del CR en pacientes con SOH y los factores que lo determinan. Métodos Con un diseño prospectivo de mediciones repetidas se estudió la respuesta a la hipercapnia (RHC) midiendo la pendiente de la relación p01/pEtCO 2 en situación basal y tras 6 meses de tratamiento con VNI en un grupo de pacientes con SOH. Previamente en un grupo control se estableció un umbral en 0,22 cmH 2 O/mmHg para diferenciar la respuesta óptima (RO) de la respuesta subóptima (RSO) del CR. Resultados Se incluyeron 36 casos, 19 varones (52%), de 65 (DE: 9) años de edad; un 63% de ellos tenían un p01/pEtCO 2 por debajo del valor de referencia. El valor basal de p01/pEtCO 2 fue de 0,17 (DE: 0,14) cmH 2 O/mmHg y tras 6 meses de VNI fue de 0,30 (DE: 0,22) cmH 2 O/mmHg (p=0,011). Tras 6 meses de tratamiento con VNI, 12 casos (33%) mantienen una función deprimida de su CR. Conclusión Un 63% de los pacientes con SOH mostraron disfunción de su CR. La aplicación de VNI mejora la función del CR, aunque no en todos los casos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: Add-on therapy with monoclonal antibodies is the recommended therapy for severe asthmatic patients refractory to maintenance treatment. In randomized control trials, mepolizumab reduced the number of exacerbations, the need of oral corticosteroids (OCS), increased asthma control, and lung function in a population of uncontrolled severe eosinophilic asthmatic patients. In this piece of work, we aimed to assess mepolizumab efficacy and safety in a cohort of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma in real-life conditions., Methods: A retrospective study was carried out at eight hospitals from Asturias (Spain). The sample included patients treated with mepolizumab from 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2019. Demographic and clinical variables were collected, including OCS use, asthma control, lung function, and exacerbation rate., Results: Sixty-nine patients (72% women) with mean age 56 ± 13 years were included. Annual exacerbation rate decreased from 4.7 (SD 3.7) to 1.3 (SD 2.5) ( p  < 0.001). The number of patients requiring OCS treatment decreased from 25 patients (36%, mean prednisone dose = 18 mg/day) to 13 patients (19%, mean prednisone dose = 9 mg/day) ( p  < 0.001). Twelve patients (48%) stopped OCS treatment. Forced expired volume in one second (FEV1) as percentage increased from 68% (SD 20) to 76% (SD 21) ( p  < 0.001). Fifty-six patients (81%) were considered responders to mepolizumab. No serious adverse events were detected during the study period., Conclusions: Overall, this study demonstrates mepolizumab efficacy and safety in a cohort of patients with uncontrolled severe eosinophilic asthma in routine clinical practice.

Introduction: Pleural disease involves a large number of admissions and long hospital stays. In order to improve this situation, a Pleural Unit (PU) was created in our hospital. Our aim was to analyze the clinical impact of this unit., Material and Methods: In this prospective study, we included patients admitted to the PU of the Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias for primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP), complicated parapneumonic pleural effusion (CPPE), and malignant pleural effusion (MPE) between January 2015 and December 2018. We analyzed descriptive parameters, mean length of stay, readmissions at 1 month, need for surgery, and in the CPPE group, in-hospital mortality. The data were compared with those of patients admitted to the respiratory medicine department for the same diseases during the previous two years (2013-2014). We also describe all procedures performed in the PU, in both inpatients and outpatients., Results: A total of 741 patients were included, We observed a progressive decrease in total admissions for pleural diseases and mean length of stay (days) (with the exception of MPE), as follows: PSP: from 6.2 to 4.2 (P=.004); SSP: 13.2 to 8.6 (P=.005), MPE: 10.3 to 12.3 (P=.05); and CPPE: 18.3 to 11.3 (P=.001) There was a reduction in hospital readmissions at 1 month and in in-hospital mortality due to CPPE in the PU period (14.9% to 5.5%) (P=.021)., Conclusions: The creation of a PU could decrease the number of unnecessary admissions, and reduce mean lengths of stay and, in the case of CPPE, in-hospital mortality., (Copyright © 2019 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The COPD Patient Management European Trial (COMET) investigated the efficacy and safety of a home-based COPD disease management intervention for severe COPD patients.The study was an international open-design clinical trial in COPD patients (forced expiratory volume in 1 s <50% of predicted value) randomised 1:1 to the disease management intervention or to the usual management practices at the study centre. The disease management intervention included a self-management programme, home telemonitoring, care coordination and medical management. The primary end-point was the number of unplanned all-cause hospitalisation days in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population. Secondary end-points included acute care hospitalisation days, BODE (body mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnoea and exercise) index and exacerbations. Safety end-points included adverse events and deaths.For the 157 (disease management) and 162 (usual management) patients eligible for ITT analyses, all-cause hospitalisation days per year (mean±sd) were 17.4±35.4 and 22.6±41.8, respectively (mean difference -5.3, 95% CI -13.7 to -3.1; p=0.16). The disease management group had fewer per-protocol acute care hospitalisation days per year (p=0.047), a lower BODE index (p=0.01) and a lower mortality rate (1.9% versus 14.2%; p<0.001), with no difference in exacerbation frequency. Patient profiles and hospitalisation practices varied substantially across countries.The COMET disease management intervention did not significantly reduce unplanned all-cause hospitalisation days, but reduced acute care hospitalisation days and mortality in severe COPD patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: Disclosures can be found alongside this article at erj.ersjournals.com, (Copyright ©ERS 2018.)

Background: Leakage is common in patients receiving home mechanical ventilation (HMV) via a face mask. Although pressure ventilators have partial compensatory capacity, excessive leakage can compromise the effectiveness of treatment. Home ventilators are equipped with built-in software which provides information on leakage. However, the values of leakage and their effects in routine clinical practice are currently little known., Objective: To measure leakage in stable patients on nocturnal HMV and its impact on treatment effectiveness., Methods: Consecutive outpatients on HMV were recruited. Nocturnal pulse oximetry was performed at home and leakage was measured using the ventilator's built-in software. We measured: mean SpO(2), percentage of time with SpO(2) <90% (T90), mean leakage (meanL), maximum leakage (maxL), and minimum leakage (minL) during the ventilation session. We estimated ventilator capacity to compensate for leakage according to inspiratory positive airway pressure and divided the patients into two groups: those with leak compensation and those without., Results: The study included 41 patients [mean age, 64 years (SD 11.9); 23 (56%) women]. Nocturnal pulse oximetry showed an SpO(2) of 94% (±2.9) and a T90 of 10% (±21.7). Leakage (in l/min) was: meanL, 32.2 (±15.3); maxL, 64.8 (±28.5), and minL, 18.8 (±10.6). Seven cases (17%) had leakage greater than the ventilator compensatory capacity, but no significant difference in SpO(2) or T90 was observed between patients with or without leak compensation., Conclusions: A wide variation between maxL and minL was observed in our series; 17% of cases had higher leakage values than the compensatory capacity of the ventilator, but this did not affect nocturnal oxygenation., (Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.)