[Macroprolactin in subjects with hyperprolactinaemia: clinical observations and relations between free PRL and PRL complexed with IgG].

Unlabelled: In some patients with hyperprolactinaemia a large portion of circulating prolactin is bound to authologous gammaglobulin and therefore it is called macroprolactin or Big-Big-Prolactin (BB-PRL).

The Aim: of the study was to select patients with predominance of macroprolactin and to learn more about the natural course of this disorder, in particular about the possible dependence of the presence of clinical features from the amount of circulating "free" PRL level, and also to search whether the quantitative proportions of both forms of PRL are stable or they change parallel to changes of the total serum PRL level.

Material And Methods: We identified 58 patients with hyperprolactinaemia, in whom BB-PRL consisted>or=60% of the total PRL concentration.

[Treatment outcome in tobacco dependence after nicotine replacement therapy and group therapy].

The deletorious health effects of smoking are generally known. In spite of that, great numbers of people still smoke tobacco in the whole world. It is primarily due to the addictive properties of nicotine.

Effect of long-term oxygen therapy on survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with moderate hypoxaemia.

Background: To date only two controlled studies have been published on the effects of domiciliary oxygen treatment on survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with advanced respiratory failure. The survival in such patients despite oxygen treatment remains poor. The prescription of long term oxygen therapy (LTOT) in less severe disease remains controversial.

Causes of death in patients with COPD and chronic respiratory failure.

Although the factors associated with mortality, such as forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), arterial oxygen tension (Pa,O2) and pulmonary arterial pressure, have been well described, there is limited information on the circumstances of death in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study was to investigate the causes and circumstances of death in patients with COPD and chronic respiratory failure (Pa,O2 < 8.0 kPa (60 mmHg) breathing air), treated with long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT).

[Eight years of experience in Warsaw with domiciliary long term oxygen therapy].

Between August 1986-July 1994 45 1 patients with chronic hypoxaemia were referred to us for evaluation. 315 of them (70%) were qualified for LTOT according to national guidelines. There were 189 pts with COPD (60%), 40 with late sequelae of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), 21 with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), 15 with bronchiectasis (BE), 15 with severe kyphoscoliosis (KS) and 35 with other disease leading to chronic respiratory failure.

[Evolution of nocturnal pulse-oximetry results in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

The aim of this study was to evaluate if results of overnight pulse-oximetry (PO) change with time and progression of the disease. We studied 39 COPD patients. Majority of them (33 pts) were treated with long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT).

[Reproducibility of results for overnight pulse oximetry in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Overnight pulse-oximetry (PO), as the only non-invasive method assessing arterial blood oxygenation during sleep, became widely used additional criterion for the long-term oxygen therapy especially in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The aim of this study was to assess the reproductibility of pulse-oximetry in COPD patients. We studied 20 stable COPD pts mean age 64.

[Prognostic value of nocturnal pulse-oximetry in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treated with oxygen at home].

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to investigate if results of overnight pulse-oximetry (OPO) predict survival in COPD patients undergoing long-term therapy (LTOT). 97 COPD patients (74 M and 23 F) qualified for LTOT from 1986 to 1992 were studied. When qualifying for LTOT patients were mean age 59 years old, had severe airway obstruction (mean FEV10,9L), hypoxaemia (mean PaO2 53 mmHg) and hypercapnia (mean PaCO2 48 mmHg).

[Predictors of survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with moderate hypoxemia].

Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is a well established method of treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There are two main qualification criteria for LTOT: severe hypoxaemia (PaO2 < 55 mmHg) and moderate hypoxemia (PaO2 > 55 mmHg) accompanied by signs of cor pulmonale. We were unable to find any controlled investigations on the effect of LTOT on survival in this group of patients.

[Clinical picture and outcome of conservative treatment for obstructive sleep apnea].

The aim of the study was to assess the clinical picture of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and to investigate the long term effectiveness of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). 170 subjects were investigated with Mesam 4 screening device. Full polysomnography was performed in suspected patients confirming the diagnosis (AHI > 10) in 72 cases (69M, 3F), mean age 46.

Hand-scoring of MESAM 4 recordings is more accurate than automatic analysis in screening for obstructive sleep apnoea.

The MESAM 4 system, developed to monitor breathing sounds, heart rate, arterial oxygen saturation (Sao2) and body position, was proposed as a screening method for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The aim of the study was to assess the accuracy of hand-scoring versus automatic-scoring in screening for obstructive sleep apnoea. The study population consisted of 56 patients, 51 males, and 5 females, mean age 47 +/- 10 yrs, suspected of having obstructive sleep apnoea.