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Early commencement of enteral nutrition (EEN) in critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation may improve outcomes. But there is a lack of enough data regarding EEN effects on COPD exacerbation patients’ outcomes. This retrospective study involved 129 COPD exacerbation patients who received invasive mechanical ventilation in ICU. The clinical outcomes were compared based on the timing of enteral nutrition (<48h vs >48h) during 60 days of ICU stay. We surveyed and analyzed mortality, pleural effusion, ventilator-associated pneumonia, weaning failure, cardiac arrhythmias, GI bleeding, electrolyte imbalances, renal dysfunction and length of ICU stay. All analyses were performed using SPSS software version 22.0. 129 COPD-exacerbated patients (EEN group n=66; DEN group n=63) who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. EEN group had a lower death rate (39% vs 44.4%) than the DEN group, but no significant difference was found in the overall mortality during the 60-day follow-up (P 0.561). The EEN group also had lower ICU stay and pleural effusion rate than the DEN group (P:0.006 and 0.020 respectively). No significant differences were found in other outcomes. Early enteral nutrition might be associated with shorter ICU stay and lower odd ratio of acquisition of pleural effusion in COPD patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. EEN could not decrease mortality rate compared with DEN in the current study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Morteza. Boskabady, Mohammad. Boskabady, Fariba. Mansouri, Mohammad. Shafei Background: Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is the most characteristic feature of asthma, which is reported in COPD patients and smokers. Increased airway [...]

Background: Long term occupational exposure to cotton dust is associated with respiratory symptoms and loss of pulmonary function. Aim: This study was conducted to explore respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function tests and chest radiography of workers, and to evaluate the findings of high resolution computed tomography and its correlation with pulmonary function tests (PFT). Material and Methods: The study was conducted on 100 cotton workers as exposed group and 100 unexposed subjects. Smokers were excluded from the study. All workers were interviewed and examined by the pulmonologist. PFT and chest radiography were conducted for all subjects. HRCT was performed for those with abnormal PFT or chest radiography. Results: A total of 51% and 31% of the cotton textile workers had one or more respiratory symptoms and respiratory signs respectively. 28% of subjects in the exposed group and 5% of subjects in unexposed group had obstructive pattern. Bronchia wall thickening and air trapping were the most frequent chest radiography and HRCT abnormalities respectively. There was a significant correlation between HRCT and the results of PFT. Conclusion: We conclude that long term exposure to cotton dust is associated with obstructive disease that increase with duration of exposure (history of working years), also use of HRCT as a sensitive tool in the assessment of pathologic changes and it's correlation with PFT, confirms the expected pathophysiology of airway obstruction in cotton workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about lower and upper respiratory tract information during the Hajj pilgrimage and their effect on the health of pilgrims. Topics discussed include the epidemiology and statistics of upper respiratory tract infection (ARI) during Hajj, diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia, and the outbreak of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) during Hajj.

Introduction: Early differentiation of biliary atresia from neonatal hepatitis is of utmost importance, since on time surgery of biliary atresia significantly improves the outcome. Hepatobiliary scintigraphy is an integral part of diagnosis work-up of these patients; however its specificity for diagnosis of biliary atresia is suboptimal. In this study we evaluated the value of ursodeoxycholic acid pre-treatment for improvement of hepatobiliary scintigraphy specificity. Methods: Thirty consecutive infants with direct heperbilirubinemia were included into the study. All infants underwent hepatobiliary scintigraphy with 99mTc-bromo iminodiacetic acid (99mTc-BRIDA) twice (first after pretreatment with phenobarbital and the other time after pre-treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid). Results: Of 30 patients included into our study 13 had final diagnosis of extrahepatic biliary atresia and 17 had neonatal hepatitis. Bowel was visualized in 11 patients with neonatal hepatitis after phenobarbital pre-treatment and in 16 after ursodeoxycholic acid pretreatment which amounts to 80 % and 96.6 % specificity for diagnosis of biliary atresia with phenobarbital and ursodeoxycholic acid respectively. All patients had complications of phenobarbital administration (lethargy, poor feeding, irritability, hypotonia, etc) to some extent. These findings decreased significantly after discontinuation of phenobarbital and were not present with ursodeoxycholic acid. Conclusion: Ursodeoxycholic acid is a safe and efficient drug for pre-treatment of patients with neonatal cholestasis syndrome who are going to undergo hepatobiliary scintigraphy. Compared to phenobarbital, this drug has fewer complications and is more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This research aims to determine the mental health status of population aged 15 and over in the province of Lorestan in 2015. Methods: The statistical population of this cross-sectional field survey consisted of residents of urban and rural areas of Lorestan in Iran. An estimated sample size of 1200 people was chosen using the systematic random sampling and the cluster method. Access provided by the contribution of Geographical Post Office of Khorramabad, Aligoodarz, and Kuhdasht cities. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used as a screening tool for mental disorders. Data analysis in the current study was carried out using the SPSS-18 software. Results: This study showed that using the traditional scoring method, 36.3% of the subjects (40.8% of females and 31.8% of males) were suspected of mental disorders. The prevalence of suspected psychiatric disorders in rural areas (38.1%) was higher than the prevalence of these disorders in urban areas (35.7%). The prevalence of suspected anxiety and the somatization of symptoms was higher than the prevalence of social dysfunction and depression, and the prevalence of these components was higher in women than men. The findings of this study also showed that the prevalence of suspected mental disorders increased significantly with age. The prevalence of suspected cases of these disorders among women, the age group of 65 and older, people living in urban areas, divorced and widowed, illiterate, and housewives people was higher than the other groups. Conclusion: The results of this study show that more than one third of the sample were suspected of mental disorders, and the prevalence of these disorders has increased from 19.7% in 1999 to 36.3% in 2015. Therefore, it is mandatory for the provincial public health authorities to take the needed steps to ensure that necessary requirements encompassing prevention and promotion of mental health are implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The effect of an inhaled corticosteroid, fluticasone propionate (FP) lung inflammation of sensitized guinea pig was examined., Material and Methods: Four groups of guinea pigs (n=8) were sensitized (S) with ovalbumin (OA). Control group was given similar solutions without OA. One S group was treated with inhaled 250 microg inhaled FP twice/day during, other group after sensitization for 18 days and two groups were treated with placebo, one during, and the other after sensitization. One day after the last treatment, tracheal responses of all animal groups to methacholine and OA were examined. Total and differential white blood cell (WBC) counts of lung lavage and lung pathology were also examined., Results: Tracheal responsiveness to both methacholine and OA and WBC of both placebo groups were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.001 for all cases). The lungs of placebo groups showed variable pathological changes (non significant to P<0.001) compared to control group. Tracheal responsiveness in two treated groups with FP to both methacholine and OA were significantly decreased compared to placebo groups (P<0.01 to P<0.001). Treatment with FP leads to improvement in total (P<0.001) and differential WBC counts (non significant to P<0.001) as well as mucosal detachment (P<0.001), but not other pathological changes., Conclusions: These results showed a protective effect of FP on tracheal responsiveness and lung inflammation. In addition, this study showed that treatment with inhaled fluticasone propionate, during sensitization (development of inflammation and pathological changes) was more effective than after sensitization (establishment of inflammation and pathological changes)., (Copyright 2009 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is increasing in patients with asthma and the effect of proton pump inhibitor therapy on asthma outcome has shown variable results. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of omeprazole in the treatment of asthma and improvement of pulmonary function in adolescents with GERD. Thirty-six consecutive patients (range, 13-20 years old) with moderate persistent asthma and GERD were recruited on regular follow-up in Mashhad City. The case group included 18 patients who received oral omeprazole (20 mg twice a day for 6 weeks) and the control group included 18 patients who received placebo. A pulmonary function test was examined in two groups immediately before and 6 weeks after medication. The symptoms of GERD were significantly improved with omeprazole in the case group. After 6 weeks of study, the mean values of forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and peak expiratory flow rate were higher in patients treated with omeprazole (p<0.0001). Treatment by omeprazole is effective for treatment of asthmatic patients with GERD.