Smartphone application-based pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD: a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an essential element of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management. However, access to conventional face-to-face PR programmes is limited.

Methods: This multicentre, randomised controlled trial recruited patients with COPD from 18 sites in Germany and Switzerland, aiming to evaluate the impact of 12 weeks of a mobile app (intervention group; IVG) on quality of life, measured by COPD Assessment Test (CAT), and exercise capacity, assessed by 1-minute-sit-to-stand-test (1MSTST), compared with a control group (CTG) receiving 'enhanced standard-of-care'.

A High-Intensity versus Moderate-Intensity Exercise Training Programme in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency-Related COPD (IMAC): A Randomized, Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Training-induced adaptations of the oxidative capacity have been shown to be blunted in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD)-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To improve training outcomes in AATD, this study was aimed to compare the effects of two exercise training programmes with different training intensities.

Methods: Thirty patients with AATD (genotype PiZZ) and COPD III-IV were randomly assigned to either high-intensity (HIT) or moderate-intensity training (MIT), each consisting of endurance, strength, and squat training for a duration of 3 weeks.

Bronchodilator Response in Post-COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infections can result in a broad spectrum of symptoms from mild to life-threatening. Long-term consequences on lung function are not well understood yet.

Methods: In our study, we have examined 134 post-COVID patients (aged 54.

Pilot study for bladder cancer detection with volatile organic compounds using ion mobility spectrometry: a novel urine-based approach.

Purpose: Despite many efforts, no reliable urinary marker system has so far shown the potential to substitute cystoscopy. Measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from urine is a promising alternative. VOCs are metabolic products which can be measured from the headspace of urine samples.

COVID-19 in Lung Transplant Recipients: A Report on 10 Recent Cases.

Due to immunosuppression, transplant recipients are at higher risk of infections with SARS-CoV-2 and worse clinical outcomes than immunocompetent hosts. Furthermore, lung transplant patients represent a special group among solid organ recipients, since pneumonia is the main manifestation of COVID-19. However, data on the course of disease and the changes in morbidity and mortality during the course of the pandemic are limited.

European pathways of care in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency.

Background: Despite initiatives to improve awareness and treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), country-level processes for AATD management remain unclear.

Objectives: We conducted a pan-European physician survey to clarify the pathways for AATD care.

Method: Professionals involved in AATD diagnosis and/or management completed a web-based survey on the detection, evaluation, monitoring and treatment of AATD and the utilisation of European reference network centres for rare lung diseases (ERN-LUNG).

Practical Recommendations for Exercise Training in Patients with Long COVID with or without Post-exertional Malaise: A Best Practice Proposal.

People with long COVID may suffer from a wide range of ongoing symptoms including fatigue, exertional dyspnea, reduced exercise performance, and others. In particular, impaired exercise performance is a condition that can be recovered in many people through an individualized physical exercise training program. However, clinical experience has shown that the presence of post-exertional malaise (PEM) is a significant barrier to physical exercise training in people with long COVID.

VOC-based detection of prostate cancer using an electronic nose and ion mobility spectrometry: A novel urine-based approach.

Background: Many diseases leave behind specific metabolites which can be detected from breath and urine as volatile organic compounds (VOC). Our group previously described VOC-based methods for the detection of bladder cancer and urinary tract infections. This study investigated whether prostate cancer can be diagnosed from VOCs in urine headspace.

Specific molecular peak analysis by ion mobility spectrometry of volatile organic compounds in urine of COVID-19 patients: A novel diagnostic approach.

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 is usually diagnosed from naso-/oropharyngeal swabs which are uncomfortable and prone to false results. This study investigated a novel diagnostic approach to Covid-19 measuring volatile organic compounds (VOC) from patients' urine.

Methods: Between June 2020 and February 2021, 84 patients with positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 were recruited as well as 54 symptomatic individuals with negative RT-PCR.

Impaired Sleep in Patients with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome Compared to Healthy Controls: A Cross-Sectional Trial.

Introduction: To objectify self-reported sleep disorders in individuals with post-COVID-syndrome (PCS), we aimed to investigate the prevalence and nature of sleep disturbances by polysomnography (PSG) in PCS compared to healthy individuals.

Methods: People with PCS (n = 21) and healthy controls (CON, n = 10) were included in this prospective trial. At baseline, clinical and social anamnesis, lung function, 1 min sit-to-stand test (STST) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were assessed.

[Pulmonary Rehabilitation].

Reduced exercise capacity, skeletal muscle dysfunction, and a physically inactive lifestyle are linked with symptoms of fatigue and dyspnea in people suffering from chronic lung disease. Numerous such extrapulmonary manifestations have been identified as treatable aspects of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). PR is an extensive personalized non-pharmaceutical intervention, encompassing, but not limited to, exercise training, respiratory therapy, and education.

[Diagnosis and treatment of asthma: a guideline for respiratory specialists 2023 - published by the German Respiratory Society (DGP) e. V.].

The management of asthma has fundamentally changed during the past decades. The present guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma was developed for respiratory specialists who need detailed and evidence-based information on the new diagnostic and therapeutic options in asthma. The guideline shows the new role of biomarkers, especially blood eosinophils and fractional exhaled NO (FeNO), in diagnostic algorithms of asthma.

Rehabilitative interventions in patients with persistent post COVID-19 symptoms-a review of recent advances and future perspectives.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has not only caused millions of deaths but left also millions of people with persistent symptoms behind. These long-term COVID-19 sequelae cause a considerable burden on individuals´ health, healthcare systems, and economies worldwide given the high rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Therefore, rehabilitative interventions and strategies are needed to counteract the post COVID-19 sequelae.

[The problem of long/post-COVID in expert assessments].

Assessing long/post-COVID syndrome (PCS) following an infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a multidisciplinary challenge due to the diverse and complex symptoms. Besides discipline-specific evaluation of infection-related organ damage, the main issue is expert objectivity and causality assessment regarding subjective symptoms. The consequences of long/PCS raise questions of insurance rights in all fields of law.

[Updated S1 guideline on long/post-COVID: relevant aspects for pain medicine].

Background: The S1 guideline on long/post-COVID of the AWMF [German Association of the Medical Scientific Societies] registration number 020-027) was updated in August 2022.

Methods: Under the coordination of the German Society of Pneumology, the guideline was updated by 21 scientific associations, two professional associations and clinical centers each and one institute and statutory accident insurance each. Each scientific association was responsible for its own chapter.

[German S1 Guideline Long-/Post-COVID].

The German Society of Pneumology initiated 2021 the AWMF S1 guideline Long COVID/Post-COVID. In a broad interdisciplinary approach, this S1 guideline was designed based on the current state of knowledge.The clinical recommendations describe current Long COVID/Post-COVID symptoms, diagnostic approaches, and therapies.

Prescribing and adjusting exercise training in chronic respiratory diseases - Expert-based practical recommendations.

Background: International guidelines recommend endurance (ET) and strength training (ST) in patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), but only provide rough guidance on how to set the initial training load. This may unintentionally lead to practice variation and inadequate training load adjustments. This study aimed to develop practical recommendations on tailoring ET and ST based on practices from international experts from the field of exercise training in CRDs.

Using a smartphone application maintains physical activity following pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Evidence suggests that patients with COPD struggle to maintain improved physical activity (PA) after completing pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). Smartphone applications (apps) providing a comprehensive training programme have conferred healthy benefits. This study was conducted to determine whether regular usage of an app maintains PA following PR.