Falls among hospitalized patients.

This article presents a review of the main causes of falls among hospitalized patients, a global, cost-effective phenomenon with many complications for patients and institutions alike, with the objective of looking into fall prevention. Reviewing articles from various databases we look into data from articles with positive outcomes, published in English. Following an analysis of the main factors of in-hospital falls -intrinsic, extrinsic and exposure to risk-, we present a concise analysis of the existing fall prevention studies, focusing on the most popular risk assessing tools which seem to lead to the best results when used in combination with an integral approach from and proper communication between the patient, the family, the institution and the health-care teams.

Heart rate recovery and oxygen kinetics after exercise in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Background: Patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a decreased exercise capacity and abnormal autonomic nervous function. However, the kinetics of early oxygen (O2) and heart rate recovery (HRR) have not been described.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated 21 men with moderate to severe OSA (mean age: 48 +/- 11 yrs, mean apnea-hypopnea index [AHI]: 55 +/- 13) and without known heart disease and 10 healthy men matched for age and body mass index (BMI; controls).

Pulmonary function at peak exercise in patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: Various respiratory abnormalities are associated with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, changes in inspiratory capacity (IC) and breathing pattern from rest to exercise in patients with CHF have not been thoroughly investigated in these patients.

Materials And Methods: Seventy seven (66 male/11 female) patients with clinical stable CHF (age: 52+/-11 years) were studied.