Acute Effect of Bronchodilator on Intrathoracic Airway Wall Compliance in COPD Patients.

Purpose: In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchial responsiveness after acute administration of short acting bronchodilators is conventionally assessed by measuring the improvement of forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV) during a maximal forced expiratory maneuver. This study aimed to measure the variation of intrathoracic airway wall compliance (AWC) after acute administration of short acting beta-2 agonist in COPD patients since this might influence the final modification of airway caliber during maximal expiratory effort and the resulting bronchodilation as inferred by FEV changes.

Methods: In a group of 10 patients suffering from COPD, intrathoracic AWC was measured at middle (50% of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and low (75% of FVC) lung volumes using the interrupter method during forced expiratory maneuver in basal conditions and after acute inhalation of albuterol (salbutamol) (400 mcg by MDI).

[Observations on the natural history of heart failure. Changes due to the therapeutic use of captopril].

The purpose of this research was a retrospective evaluation of the mortality rate in 138 patients, considered after the first hospitalisation due to heart failure. After 5 years, the mortality rate was higher in the 54 patients with dilatative cardiomyopathy (74.3%), compared to the 44 patients with coronary heart disease (54.

[Experience with intravenous amiodarone in hyperkinetic supraventricular arrhythmias].

The Authors tested the effectiveness of amiodarone hydrochloride i.v. in 50 cases of supraventricular hyperkinetic arrhythmias recently aroused.