Reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the fatigue severity scale and its correlation with pulmonary function, dyspnea, and functional capacity in patients with COPD.

Objective: To describe the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the fatigue severity scale (FSS) in patients with COPD and to identify the presence of its association with parameters of pulmonary function, dyspnea, and functional capacity.

Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study involving 50 patients with COPD, who completed the FSS in interviews with two researchers in two visits. The FSS scores were correlated with those of the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale, as well as with FEV1, FVC, and six-minute walk distance (6MWD).

Prevalence of self-reported chronic diseases in individuals over the age of 40 in São Paulo, Brazil: the PLATINO study.

Few studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence of chronic diseases and its impact in individuals aged 40 years or over in Brazil. The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of some common chronic diseases in the Brazilian subgroup assessed by the PLATINO study using a self-reported survey. A total of 918 individuals (55% women) with a mean age of 54.

[An inhalation chamber model for controlled studies of tobacco smoke toxicity in rodents].

Introduction: Smoking is a serious worldwide public health problem. Animal models act as a bridge between laboratory and human studies. The models applied are difficult to reproduce because of the use of different types of inhalation chambers and mainly because of the lack of continuous monitoring of smoke concentration.

Circulatory response to a 50-m walk in the coronary care unit in acute coronary syndrome.

Background: Lack of a standardized and monitored technique to start rehabilitation of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the coronary care unit.

Objective: To describe the technique of and circulatory response to a 50-m walk (W50m).

Methods: Experimental cross-sectional study of 65 patients with ACS; of these, 36 (54%) with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), Killip I, 29 (45.

[Discriminative properties and validity of a health status questionnaire in obstructive airway disease patients: the Airway Questionnaire 20].

Objective: To evaluate the discriminative properties and validity of the Airways Questionnaire 20 (AQ20) in a sample of patients with airway obstruction and to compare its properties with those of the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the Short Form 36 (SF-36).

Patients And Methods: A convenience sample of 47 subjects was recruited from among 61 consecutive patients referred to an outpatient clinic specialized in obstructive airway diseases. All subjects completed the AQ20, SGRQ, and SF-36.

Applicability of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis.

Objective: To evaluate the applicability of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) as an instrument to measure health-related quality of life in a sample of patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) through the analysis of its reproducibility and its correlation with functional and clinical parameters.

Methods: A test-retest reproducibility study for the comparative analysis of the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of the SF-12 and the SF-36. A total of 46 patients diagnosed with PSS were studied, regardless of the presence of respiratory symptoms.

Using the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire to evaluate quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: validating a new version for use in Brazil.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of a modified version of the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire. The version evaluated elicits "agree" and "do not agree", rather than "yes" and "no", responses. The intention is to facilitate the comprehension of double-negative questions and to promote better recollection of symptoms by patients by shortening their symptom histories from 12 months to 3 months.

Evaluating physical capacity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: comparing the shuttle walk test with the encouraged 6-minute walk test.

Objective: To evaluate the applicability of the incremental (shuttle) walk test in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and compare the performance of those patients on the shuttle walk test to that of the same patients on the encouraged 6-minute walk test.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, in which 24 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were selected. In random order, patients were, after an initial practice period, submitted to a shuttle walk test and an encouraged 6-minute walk test.

Brazilian version of airways questionnaire 20: a reproducibility study and correlations in patients with COPD.

This study describes the correlations and reproducibility of AQ20, a simple health status questionnaire with 20 questions, which was designed to be useful especially in time sparing situations. A formal language validation process was done, in order to validate the AQ20 before studying its reproducibility. Thirty stable COPD patients answered the final version twice within 15 days.