Within-session repeatability of Doppler ultrasound leg blood flow assessments during exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Doppler ultrasound can be used to evaluate leg blood flow (Q̇), especially of interest when investigating peripheral vascular limitations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the within-session repeatability, a subdomain of test-retest reliability, of this method remains unknown. This study aimed to provide within-session repeatability estimates of Doppler ultrasound-based Q̇ at rest and during single-leg knee-extensor exercise (KEE) in patients with COPD, and to compare these estimates to matched healthy controls.

Test-retest reliability of Doppler ultrasound-based leg blood flow assessments during exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Doppler ultrasound may be used to assess leg blood flow ( ), but the reliability of this method remains unexplored in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), where between-subject variability may be larger than healthy due to peripheral vascular changes. This study aimed to investigate the reliability of Doppler ultrasound in quantifying during single-leg knee-extensor exercise (KEE) in COPD patients compared with those obtained from healthy matched controls. In this case-control study, 16 participants with COPD were matched based on sex and age with 16 healthy controls.

Prognostic value of pulmonary diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide and ventilation-perfusion SPECT findings in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Reduced pulmonary diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (D) can be observed in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and associates with increased mortality. However, the prognostic value of D when corrected for haemoglobin (D), an independent modifier of D, remains understudied. Additionally, the prognostic role of ventilation (V)-perfusion (Q) emission computed tomography (V/Q SPECT) findings in patients with PAH, which may concurrently be performed to rule out chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, is uncertain.

Pulmonary blood volume measured by Rb-PET in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study.

In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary vascular dysfunction and destruction are observable before the onset of detectable emphysema, but it is unknown whether this is associated with central hypovolemia. We investigated if patients with COPD have reduced pulmonary blood volume (PBV) evaluated by Rb-positron emission tomography (PET) at rest and during adenosine-induced hyperemia. This single-center retrospective cohort study assessed 6,301 Rb-PET myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) examinations performed over a 6-yr period.

Dual Test Gas Pulmonary Diffusing Capacity Measurement During Exercise in Humans Using the Single-Breath Method.

The combined single-breath measurement of the diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide (DL,CO) and nitric oxide (DL,NO) is a useful technique to measure pulmonary alveolar-capillary reserve in both healthy and patient populations. The measurement provides an estimate of the participant's ability to recruit and distend pulmonary capillaries. The method has recently been reported to exhibit a high test-retest reliability in healthy volunteers during exercise of light to moderate intensity.

Doppler Ultrasound-Based Leg Blood Flow Assessment During Single-Leg Knee-Extensor Exercise in an Uncontrolled Setting.

Doppler ultrasound has revolutionized the assessment of organ blood flow and is widely used in research and clinical settings. While Doppler ultrasound-based assessment of contracting leg muscle blood flow is common in human studies, the reliability of this method requires further investigation. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the within-day test-retest, between-day test-retest, and inter-rater reliability of Doppler ultrasound for assessing leg blood flow during rest and graded single-leg knee-extensions (0 W, 6 W, 12 W, and 18 W), with the ultrasound probe being removed between measurements.

Pulmonary blood volume assessment from a standard cardiac rubidium-82 imaging protocol: impact of adenosine-induced hyperemia.

Background: This study aimed to assess the feasibility of estimating the pulmonary blood volume noninvasively using standard Rubidium-82 myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and characterize the changes during adenosine-induced hyperemia.

Methods: This study comprised 33 healthy volunteers (15 female, median age = 23 years), of which 25 underwent serial rest/adenosine stress Rubidium-82 MPI sessions. Mean bolus transit times (MBTT) were obtained by calculating the time delay from the Rubidium-82 bolus arrival in the pulmonary trunk to the arrival in the left myocardial atrium.

Fidelity and tolerability of two high-intensity interval training protocols in patients with COPD: a randomised cross-over pilot study.

Objectives: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) during pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may alleviate the symptom burden, but the fidelity and tolerability of HIIT using long or short intervals in patients with COPD are unknown.

Methods: Twelve patients with moderate-to-severe COPD were included in a randomised cross-over pilot study. They completed two supervised HIIT protocols (4×4 and 10×1).

Pulmonary diffusing capacity to nitric oxide and carbon monoxide during exercise and in the supine position: a test-retest reliability study.

New Findings: What is the central question in this study? How reliable is the combined measurement of the pulmonary diffusing capacity to carbon monoxide and nitric oxide (D ) during exercise and in the resting supine position, respectively? What is the main finding and its importance? The D technique is reliable with a very low day-to-day variability both during exercise and in the resting supine position, and may thus provide a useful physiological outcome that reflects the alveolar-capillary reserve in humans.

Abstract: D , the combined single-breath measurement of the diffusing capacity to carbon monoxide (D ) and nitric oxide (D ) measured either during exercise or in the resting supine position may be a useful physiological measure of alveolar-capillary reserve. In the present study, we investigated the between-day test-retest reliability of D -based metrics.

Exercise adaptations in COPD: the pulmonary perspective.

In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the progressive loss of lung tissue is widely considered irreversible. Thus, various treatment and rehabilitation schemes, including exercise-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) are thought to slow down but not reverse or halt the disease. Nonetheless, the adult lung conceals the intrinsic capacity for de novo lung tissue formation in the form of abundant progenitor/stem cell populations.

Regulation of the microvasculature during small muscle mass exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease vs. chronic heart failure.

Skeletal muscle convective and diffusive oxygen (O) transport are peripheral determinants of exercise capacity in both patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic heart failure (CHF). We hypothesised that differences in these peripheral determinants of performance between COPD and CHF patients are revealed during small muscle mass exercise, where the cardiorespiratory limitations to exercise are diminished. Eight patients with moderate to severe COPD, eight patients with CHF (NYHA II), and eight age- and sex-matched controls were studied.

Therapeutic benefits of proning to improve pulmonary gas exchange in severe respiratory failure: focus on fundamentals of physiology.

New Findings: What is the topic of this review? The use of proning for improving pulmonary gas exchange in critically ill patients. What advances does it highlight? Proning places the lung in its 'natural' posture, and thus optimises the ventilation-perfusion distribution, which enables lung protective ventilation and the alleviation of potentially life-threatening hypoxaemia in COVID-19 and other types of critical illness with respiratory failure.

Abstract: The survival benefit of proning patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is well established and has recently been found to improve pulmonary gas exchange in patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS (CARDS).

A case of thrombocytopenia and multiple thromboses after vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 against SARS-CoV-2.

Recently, reports of severe thromboses, thrombocytopenia, and hemorrhage in persons vaccinated with the chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, AZD1222, Vaxzevria; Oxford/AstraZeneca) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have emerged. We describe an otherwise healthy 30-year-old woman who developed thrombocytopenia, ecchymosis, portal vein thrombosis, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis the second week after she received the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. Extensive diagnostic workup for thrombosis predispositions showed heterozygosity for the prothrombin mutation, but no evidence of myeloproliferative neoplasia or infectious or autoimmune diseases.

Next-generation sequencing of AV nodal reentrant tachycardia patients identifies broad spectrum of variants in ion channel genes.

Atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia (AVNRT) is the most common form of regular paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. This arrhythmia affects women twice as frequently as men, and is often diagnosed in patients <40 years of age. Familial clustering, early onset of symptoms and lack of structural anomaly indicate involvement of genetic factors in AVNRT pathophysiology.

[A randomized, single-blinded study of the effect of intake of repair beer during a hangover].

We conducted a randomized, single-blinded study of the effect of alcohol intake during a hangover. We measured cardiovascular parameters, and the participants filled out a series of questionnaires regarding their well-being. We found, that an intake of five beers led to a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure, heart rate and self-reported feeling of palpitations.

Changes in ventilatory capacity and pulmonary gas exchange during systemic and pulmonary inflammation in humans.

The exact mechanism linking the systemic inflammatory response associated with sepsis to changes in lung function remains to be determined. In a human experimental model of inflammation, we investigated how acute systemic and local pulmonary inflammation affects ventilatory capacity and pulmonary gas exchange. Fifteen volunteers received Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intravenously or endobronchially on two different study days.