Widening the selection criteria for lung volume reduction surgery.

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Validity of a Consumer-Based Wearable to Measure Clinical Parameters in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Healthy Controls: Observational Study.

Background: Consumer-based wearables are becoming more popular and provide opportunities to track individual's clinical parameters remotely. However, literature about their criterion and known-groups validity is scarce.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the validity of the Fitbit Charge 4, a wrist-worn consumer-based wearable, to measure clinical parameters (ie, daily step count, resting heart rate [RHR], heart rate variability [HRV], respiratory rate [RR], and oxygen saturation) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and healthy controls in free-living conditions in Belgium by comparing it with medical-grade devices.

The one-minute sit-to-stand test: A practical tool for assessing functional exercise capacity in patients with COPD in routine clinical practice.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with a reduced exercise capacity. Although several field tests for exercise capacity have been modified for non-standard settings, i.e.

Vitamin D for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: COPD is a common, preventable and treatable airway disease, and is currently the third leading cause of death worldwide. About one billion people worldwide are estimated to have vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is common among people with COPD, and has been reported to be associated with reduced lung function and increased risk of acute exacerbations of COPD.

Technical efficiency of ghanaian health facilities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: Understanding the technical efficiency of health facilities is essential for an optimal allocation of scarce resources to primary health sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic may have further undermined levels of efficiency in low-resource settings. This study takes advantage of 2019 and 2020 data on characteristics of health facilities, health services inputs and output to examine the levels and changes in efficiency of Ghanaian health facilities.