Pulse Wave Velocity and Blood Pressure Variability as Prognostic Indicators in Very Elderly Patients.

There is scarce evidence for the prognostic importance of hemodynamic measures, such as blood pressure (BP), BP variability, and arterial stiffness, in the very elderly population with advanced chronic conditions. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic importance of 24 h BP, BP variability, and arterial stiffness in a cohort of very elderly patients admitted to the hospital due to a decompensated chronic disease. We studied 249 patients older than 80 (66% women; 60% congestive heart failure).

Detecting the ultra low dimensionality of real networks.

Reducing dimension redundancy to find simplifying patterns in high-dimensional datasets and complex networks has become a major endeavor in many scientific fields. However, detecting the dimensionality of their latent space is challenging but necessary to generate efficient embeddings to be used in a multitude of downstream tasks. Here, we propose a method to infer the dimensionality of networks without the need for any a priori spatial embedding.

Evolution and Comparative Analysis of Hospitalizations in Spain Due to COPD and Bronchiectasis between 2004 and 2015.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the leading cause of hospitalization for chronic respiratory illness in Spain. In recent years hospital admissions due to bronchiectasis have been increasing, although it is not known whether this is in proportion to COPD hospitalizations. Our main objective was to analyze the temporal evolution of discharges due to COPD, bronchiectasis, and their combination, and secondly, to assess their impact on in-hospital mortality and healthcare costs.

Short- and medium-term prognosis in patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation: the CODEX index.

Background: No valid tools exist for evaluating the prognosis in the short and medium term after hospital discharge of patients with COPD. Our hypothesis was that a new index based on the CODEX (comorbidity, obstruction, dyspnea, and previous severe exacerbations) index can accurately predict mortality, hospital readmission, and their combination for the period from 3 months to 1 year after discharge in patients hospitalized for COPD.

Methods: A multicenter study of patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbations was used to develop the CODEX index, and a different patient cohort was used for validation.

COPD patients with and without metabolic syndrome: clinical and functional differences.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) are considered public health challenges of the 21st century. The coexistence of MetS in COPD patients and any clinical differences between COPD patients with and without MetS have not been extensively studied. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with MetS and COPD.

Comorbidities and short-term prognosis in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD: the EPOC en Servicios de medicina interna (ESMI) study.

Background: Comorbidities are frequent in patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation, but little is known about their relation with short-term mortality and hospital readmissions. Our hypothesis is that the frequency and type of comorbidities impair the prognosis within 12 weeks after discharge.

Methods: A longitudinal, observational, multicenter study of patients hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation with spirometric confirmation was performed.

[Clinical profile and treatment of elderly patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Spanish Internal Medicine services. ECCO study].

Background And Objective: Hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) occur mostly in elderly patients. We describe the characteristics and treatment of elderly patients hospitalized for COPD in Internal Medicine Services, compared with the younger age group.

Patients And Methods: Observational, prospective, multicenter study.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and mortality after hospital admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is isolated in advanced stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objectives: The aim of our study was to determine whether PA isolation during hospitalization for COPD exacerbation was associated with a poorer prognosis after discharge.

Methods: We prospectively studied all patients with COPD exacerbation admitted between June 2003 and September 2004.

Factors associated with mortality in patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalized in General Medicine departments.

We aim to improve knowledge on risk factors that relate to mortality in subjects with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are hospitalized in General Medicine departments. In a cross-sectional multicenter study, by means of a logistic regression analysis, we assessed the possible association of death during hospitalization with the following groups of variables of participating patients: sociodemographic features, treatment received prior to admission and during hospitalization, COPD-related clinical features recorded prior to admission, comorbidity diagnosed prior to admission, clinical data recorded during hospitalization, laboratory results recorded during hospitalization, and electrocardiographic findings recorded during hospitalization. A total of 398 patients was included; 353 (88.

Risk factors for hospital readmission in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Hospital readmissions for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are one of the leading causes of health care expenditures worldwide.

Objectives: To identify risk factors for hospital readmission in COPD patients.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated 129 consecutive patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD.

Walking recovery after an acute stroke: assessment with a new functional classification and the Barthel Index.

Objectives: To investigate walking recovery after an acute stroke by using both a new functional classification and the Barthel Index, and to identify factors associated with good recovery.

Design: A 1-year inception cohort study.

Setting: In- and outpatient setting in a district hospital.

Proposal and validation of a new functional ambulation classification scale for clinical use.

Objective: To validate a new functional ambulation classification.

Design: Validity study.

Setting: In- and outpatients of a district hospital rehabilitation service.

Pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis associated with primary pulmonary hypertension: report of 2 new cases and review of 35 cases from the literature.

Pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PCH) is a rare cause of primary pulmonary hypertension characterized by thin-walled microvessels infiltrating the peribronchial and perivascular interstitium, the lung parenchyma, and the pleura. These proliferating microvessels are prone to bleeding, resulting in accumulation of hemosiderin-laden macrophages in alveolar spaces. Here we report 2 cases of PCH with pulmonary hypertension, 1 of them associated with mechanical intravascular hemolysis, a feature previously reported in other hemangiomatous diseases, but not in PCH.

Mortality after hospitalization for COPD.

Objectives: To identify variables associated with mortality in patients admitted to the hospital for acute exacerbation of COPD.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Acute-care hospital in Barcelona (Spain).