Publications by authors named "Enric Prats"
Article Synopsis
- - This study investigates whether starting Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) earlier at an FVC of 75% improves outcomes in ALS patients compared to the standard initiation at 50%.
- - Conducted as a randomized clinical trial with 42 participants, results indicated a trend toward better survival and reduced respiratory decline in the early NIV group, although the findings weren't statistically significant.
- - The trial ultimately suggests that early NIV is tolerated well and may help slow respiratory muscle deterioration, supporting the need for earlier respiratory evaluations in ALS patients.
Purpose: Multidisciplinary care has become the preferred model of care for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It is assumed that the sum of interventions associated with this approach has a positive effect on survival. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary care approach on the survival of patients with ALS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Severe acidosis can cause noninvasive ventilation (NIV) failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF). NIV is therefore contraindicated outside of intensive care units (ICUs) in these patients. Less is known about NIV failure in patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema (ACPE) and obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Transcutaneous carbon dioxide (P(tcCO2)) monitoring is being used increasingly to assess acute respiratory failure. However, there are conflicting findings concerning its reliability when evaluating patients with high levels of P(aCO2). Our study evaluates the accuracy of this method in subjects with respiratory failure according to the severity of hypercapnia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are very sensitive to changes in pulmonary mechanics and central ventilation control during sleep and may develop significant gas exchange alterations with increased hypoxemia and hypercapnia. Oxygen therapy improves nocturnal desaturation but can worsen hypoventilation.
Objectives: To analyze the prevalence of nocturnal hypoventilation (NHV) in hypercapnic COPD patients and to determine predictive factors for this phenomenon.
We report a patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with somnolence as an initial manifestation and sleep apneas as a prominent sign. A respiratory polygraphy revealed the presence of a continuous Cheyne-Stokes pattern both awake and during sleep with central apneas. The neuropathology showed PrP deposition in brainstem involving respiratory nuclei.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Objectives: To analyze the short- and long-term effects of domiciliary non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in the elderly.
Methods: From 1990 to 2005 all patients who initiated NIV at age 75 or older were included in the study. The mean follow-up period was 36 (24) months.
Study Objectives: To analyze (1) the impact of a protocol of early respiratory evaluation of the indications for home mechanical ventilation (HMV) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and (2) the effects of the protocol and of bulbar involvement on the survival of patients receiving noninvasive ventilation (NIV).
Design And Setting: Retrospective study in a tertiary care referral center.
Patients: HMV was indicated in 86 patients with ALS, with 22 patients (25%) presenting with intolerance to treatment associated with bulbar involvement.