Novel algorithm to identify and differentiate specific digital signature of breath sound in patients with diffuse parenchymal lung disease.

Background And Objective: Auscultation is an important part of the clinical examination of different lung diseases. Objective analysis of lung sounds based on underlying characteristics and its subsequent automatic interpretations may help a clinical practice.

Methods: We collected the breath sounds from 8 normal subjects and 20 diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD) patients using a newly developed instrument and then filtered off the heart sounds using a novel technology.

Role of doxycycline to resolve different types of non-malignant lung and pleural pathology: The results of a pilot observation.

Background: Lung lesions may develop from tissue reactions to known or unknown stimuli and present with different morphological descriptions. The pathogenesis may be induced and maintained by different bioactive substances, of which, the upregulation matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a vital role. Inhibition of the MMPs, therefore, may be a prospective mode of therapy for such lesions.

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in COPD may manifest myocardial ischemia.

Background: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is observed frequently in advanced COPD and it appears unrelated to the co-presence of its common risk factors as hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, etc. The patho-physiology of this association is yet unclear. We postulated that ischemia not apparent in the routine clinical evaluation could be the cause of such LVDD.

Prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Background: Reduction of bone mineral density (BMD) is a known and established phenomenon in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there have been no data regarding osteoporosis/osteopenia in COPD patients in India.

Aim: To look for the degree and frequency of osteoporosis/osteopenia in our OPD patients being diagnosed as COPD.

Treatment of asthma: Identification of the practice behavior and the deviation from the guideline recommendations.

Background: Despite an exponential development of the understanding of the disease with availability of good therapy and feasibility of good control along with availability of globally accepted guidelines, there remains a significant gap between the guidelines and prevailing practice behavior for treating asthma all over the globe. This perhaps stands as the single most deterrent factor for good asthma care worldwide. The objective of the study is to analyze the asthma prescriptions to find out the available status of the practice behaviour and the deviations from the guideline in asthma practice.

The role of long-term doxycycline in patients of idiopathic pulmonaryfibrosis: The results of an open prospective trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of long term use of doxycycline in IPF patients.

Materials And Methods: Patients of IPF, selected randomly from out patient services and diagnosed on the basis of HRCT chest, were put on doxycycline in an open prospective trial. They were followed up with monitoring of subjective well being along with measurement of pulse rate and arterial oxygen saturation at rest and after a fixed and certain exercise, forced vital capacity, six minutes walk test, St Georges Respiratory questionnaire, and serial chest X-rays.