Publications by authors named "Chi H Chau"
Article Synopsis
- * It found that both mild-moderate and severe COVID-19 patients experienced significant worsening in dyspnea (difficulty breathing), with severe cases also linked to more frequent severe COPD exacerbations and higher non-COVID respiratory mortality risks.
- * Overall, the research indicates that COVID-19 infection can lead to persistent health problems for COPD patients, particularly those with more severe cases, highlighting the need for ongoing care post-recovery.
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) phenotyping using stable-state blood eosinophil level was shown to have prognostic implication in terms of exacerbation risk. However, using a single cut-off of blood eosinophil level to predict clinical outcome has been challenged. There have been suggestions that variability of blood eosinophil count at stable-state could provide additional information on exacerbation risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objective: With the colliding global epidemics of diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB), we studied the effects of DM on the presentation of TB and its response to treatment.
Methods: Consecutive TB patients from 2006 to 2010 in a territory-wide treatment programme offering 9-month extended treatment for TB patients with DM were examined and followed up prospectively to assess their treatment response. Successful treatment completers were tracked through the TB registry and death registry for relapse, death or till 31 December 2014, whichever was the earliest.
Melioidosis mycotic aneurysm: An uncommon complication of an uncommon disease.
Respir Med Case Rep
June 2015
Melioidosis is often considered an exotic and uncommon disease in most parts of the world. However it is an endemic disease in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia with an expanding distribution. Melioidosis can involve almost any organ and can deteriorate rapidly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)), a multifunctional cytokine, has been implicated to be responsible for the increased deposition of extracellular matrix in the airways, and increased submucosal collagen expression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We determined plasma TGF-beta(1) levels in patients with COPD and explored its association with common functional polymorphisms of TGF-beta(1) gene at C-509T and T869C in the development of COPD in a case-control study.
Methods: Stable COPD patients who were ever smokers, and age and pack-years smoked matched healthy controls (n = 205 in each group) were recruited for measurement of plasma TGF-beta(1) levels using commercially available ELISA kit, and genotyped at C-509T and T869C functional polymorphisms of TGF-beta(1) gene using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).
Objective: Many studies have suggested that an imbalance of protease activation and inhibition might result in COPD with emphysema. Levels of alpha-1-antitrypsin (alpha1-AT), the key protease inhibitor, are genetically determined by alleles that present in many phenotypes/subtypes, some of which are associated with deficiency of the protein. We prospectively evaluated the prevalence of the protease inhibitor (Pi) alleles and phenotypes together with the serum alpha1-AT levels in Chinese patients with COPD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To compare levofloxacin and ofloxacin in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis of 106 patients with MDR-TB (February 1990 through December 2000) receiving directly observed therapy with fluoroquinolone and accompanying drugs, which mainly included aminoglycosides, cycloserine, ethionamide/prothionamide, and pyrazinamide, was performed. Clinical data from 99 suitable patients were subjected to univariate analysis, stratification, and multiple logistic regression to compare the roles of levofloxacin and ofloxacin in multidrug regimens.
Objectives: To compare tuberculosis (TB) in older and younger patients.
Design: A retrospective and comparative observational study.
Setting: Four chest clinics and two chest hospitals in Hong Kong.