[Access to auto-adjustable positive airway pressure devices for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea during the COVID-19 pandemic].

The use of positive airway pressure is the treatment of choice for obstructive sleep apnea. Since the beginning of SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic the recommendations were to avoid the administration of this therapy in the sleep laboratory and to start treatment with autoadjustable continuous positive airway pressure devices. The objective was to evaluate access to these devices in the current epidemiological context.

Evaluation of the pulmonary function of patients with severe coronavirus 2019 disease three months after diagnosis.

There are few data regarding the repercussion in the pulmonary function of patients who had severe or critical COVID-19 pneumonia. The objective was to describe these patients' pulmonary function and establish an association with the severity of the disease (patients with severe or critical pneumonia), the presence of comorbidities, the tomographic involvement and the persistence of dyspnoea. Fifty-five patients were included, 40 (73%) male, media of age 54.

[Diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, guidelines for interpretation].

The diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is, after spirometry the standard and noninvasive pulmonary function test of greater clinical use. However, there are substantial errors in the interpretation of the physiological significance of the DLCO, its derived measures and, therefore the clinical significance of its alterations. In addition to the use of different nomenclatures, other sources of confusion have contributed to some negative view of the test.

Spirometry reference values for an andean high-altitude population.

Unlabelled: We compared the spirometric values of people living at High Altitude at the Andean Plateau with those predicted for lowland population.

Rationale: Spirometry reference values are not yet available for the millions of people living at high altitude in the Andean High Plateau.

Objective: To obtain spirometric prediction equations from a healthy subset of adults living in Argentina at 3440m above sea level.

[STOP-BANG, a useful and easy tool for the screening of obstructive sleep apnea].

The STO-BANG questionnaire, S standing for snore, T tired, O observed apneas, P pressure (arterial hypertension), B BMI (body mass index > 35 kg/ m2), A age (> 50 years old), N neck circumference (> 40 cm), G gender (male); is a simple tool that enables the detection of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). If the patient adds 3 or more points, it is considered to have a high probability of having this disease. Our goal was to evaluate the capacity of the STOP-BANG questionnaire and to compare it with the ability of a sleep trained pulmonologist in determining the probability of OSA.