Clinical and imaging characteristics of patients with COVID-19 predicting hospital readmission after emergency department discharge: a single-centre cohort study in Italy.

Objective: We aimed at identifying baseline predictive factors for emergency department (ED) readmission, with hospitalisation/death, in patients with COVID-19 previously discharged from the ED. We also developed a disease progression velocity index.

Design And Setting: Retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data.

Disease control in patients with asthma is associated with alexithymia but not with depression or anxiety.

This observational cohort study investigated the relationship between alexithymia, coping strategies, anxiety, depression, pulmonary function, and disease control in bronchial asthma (BA) patients who attended a tertiary care center between December 2010 and November 2011. Participants (N = 117) were administered self-report scales measuring anxiety, depression, alexithymia, and coping strategies. Pulmonary function expressed as forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory flow rate over the middle 50% of the FVC (FEF25-75) as% predicted and FEV1/FVC as%, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in ppb and the Asthma Control Test (ACT) were recorded.

Dynamic hyperinflation is associated with a poor cardiovascular response to exercise in COPD patients.

Background: Pulmonary hyperinflation has the potential for significant adverse effects on cardiovascular function in COPD. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between dynamic hyperinflation and cardiovascular response to maximal exercise in COPD patients.

Methods: We studied 48 patients (16F; age 68 yrs ± 8; BMI 26 ± 4) with COPD.