Eszopiclone versus zopiclone in the treatment of insomnia.

Objective: To determine the therapeutic effects of two selective GABA-A agonists, zopiclone and eszopiclone, in the treatment of insomnia.

Methods: This study comprised a phase III, single-center, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group, non-inferiority trial. Patients were randomized to receive zopiclone 7.

Diagnostic accuracy of home-based monitoring system in morbidly obese patients with high risk for sleep apnea.

Background: No previous studies have validated the use of portable monitoring (PM) for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in morbidly obese individuals. Our aim was to investigate the accuracy of PM for detecting respiratory events in morbidly obese patients that will be undergoing bariatric surgery.

Methods: This was a prospective study involving patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥35 kg/m(2) who were recruited from the Sleep Clinic of Universidade Federal de São Paulo.

The use of portable monitoring for sleep apnea diagnosis in adults.

Due to increasing demand for sleep services, there has been growing interest in ambulatory models of care for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The implementation of alternative approaches to the current management by full polysomnography (PSG) in the sleep laboratory is necessary for diagnosing this syndrome due to the high cost of full-night PSG. A good alternative option for OSA diagnosis is portable monitoring (PM), which is known for its accuracy, ease of management and lower cost when compared with full PSG.

Optimizing the evaluation of excess exercise ventilation for prognosis assessment in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: Increased ventilatory (.VE) response to carbon dioxide output (.VCO2) is a key finding of incremental cardiopulmonary exercise testing in both heart failure and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Factors influencing physical functional status in intensive care unit survivors two years after discharge.

Background: Studies suggest that in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU), physical functional status (PFS) improves over time, but does not return to the same level as before ICU admission. The goal of this study was to assess physical functional status two years after discharge from an ICU and to determine factors influencing physical status in this population.

Methods: The study reviewed all patients admitted to two non-trauma ICUs during a one-year period and included patients with age ≥ 18 yrs, ICU stay ≥ 24 h, and who were alive 24 months after ICU discharge.

Patients admitted to the ICU for acute exacerbation of COPD: two-year mortality and functional status.

Objective: To assess ICU patients with COPD, in terms of in-hospital characteristics, two-year mortality and two-year functional status of survivors.

Methods: A prospective cohort study involving patients with acute exacerbation of COPD admitted to the ICUs of two hospitals in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, between July of 2005 and July of 2006. At two years after discharge, survivors were interviewed by telephone in order to determine Karnofsky scores and scores on a scale regarding activities of daily living (ADL).