Prediction of severe acute exacerbation using changes in breathing pattern of COPD patients on home noninvasive ventilation.

Introduction: Acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) is associated with poor outcome. Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is recommended to treat end-stage COPD. We hypothesized that changing breathing pattern of COPD patients on NIV could identify patients with severe AECOPD prior to admission.

Oxaliplatin-induced bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia following hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Oxaliplatin given systemically is associated with pneumonitis in less than 1% of cases. This case report describes acute respiratory failure, due to bronchiolitis organising pneumonia, in a patient with colorectal carcinoma being treated with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy which included oxaliplatin and CPT-11 (irinotecan). The clinical course, the lack of an identifiable infectious agent and the complete response to corticosteroids suggested a drug-induced cause.

Cochlear implant insertion forces in microdissected human cochlea to evaluate a prototype array.

Cochlear implant array insertion forces are potentially related to cochlear trauma. We compared these forces between a standard (Digisonic SP; Neurelec, Vallauris, France) and an array prototype (Neurelec) with a smaller diameter. The arrays were inserted by a mechatronic tool in 23 dissected human cochlea specimens exposing the basilar membrane.