A randomized placebo-controlled trial of paroxetine for the management of anxiety in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PAC Study).

Background: Despite the high prevalence of anxiety in COPD patients and its impact on quality of life, evidence to support the effectiveness of various anxiety treatment options is insufficient, leading to the need for further research in this field.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of paroxetine for the management of anxiety in COPD and the impact of treatment on patients' quality of life and rate of hospitalization.

Patients And Methods: In a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, COPD patients were allocated into groups that either received paroxetine 20 mg or placebo pills daily, for four months.

Psychological therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (commonly referred to as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) is a chronic lung condition characterised by the inflammation of airways and irreversible destruction of pulmonary tissue leading to progressively worsening dyspnoea. It is a leading international cause of disability and death in adults. Evidence suggests that there is an increased prevalence of anxiety disorders in people with COPD.

Ambulatory oxygen for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are not hypoxaemic at rest.

Background: People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often become transiently hypoxaemic (low oxygen levels in blood) on exercise, necessitating oxygen therapy to improve breathlessness and exercise capacity and to reduce disability. Ambulatory oxygen therapy refers to provision of oxygen therapy during exercise and activities of daily living. Ambulatory oxygen therapy is often used by patients on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) during exercise or by non-LTOT users with or without resting hypoxaemia when they show evidence of exercise de-saturation and demonstrate improvement in exercise capacity with supplemental oxygen.

Noninvasive ventilation in acute severe asthma: current evidence and future perspectives.

Purpose Of Review: The use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is often employed for the management of acute respiratory failure as an alternative to endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. However, evidence to support the application of NPPV use in patients with acute severe asthma is less known.

Recent Findings: A paucity of evidence is available to support the use of NPPV as part of clinical care in patients with acute severe asthma.

Motor cortex plasticity induced by theta burst stimulation is impaired in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a respiratory condition occurring during sleep characterised by repeated collapse of the upper airway. Patients with OSA show altered brain structure and function that may manifest as impaired neuroplasticity. We assessed this hypothesis in 13 patients with moderate-to-severe OSA and 11 healthy control subjects.

Obstructive sleep apnoea in adults.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is characterised by repetitive closure of the upper airway, repetitive oxygen desaturations and sleep fragmentation. The prevalence of adult OSA is increasing because of a worldwide increase in obesity and the ageing of populations. OSA presents with a variety of symptoms the most prominent of which are snoring and daytime tiredness.

Sleep disordered breathing in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome: a group controlled study.

Objective: Patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) have higher fatigue levels and also suffer from excessive day time sleepiness. The underlying mechanisms for this are not fully understood. Knowing that these patients have higher salivary surface tension, we postulated that sleep disordered breathing (SDB) would be more common and would be a contributor to these symptoms amongst pSS patients.

Pharmacological interventions for the treatment of anxiety disorders in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is characterised by inflammation of the airways and destruction of pulmonary tissue with post bronchodilator FEV1/FVC of <0.70 (forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity). Evidence indicates an increased prevalence of anxiety disorders in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as compared with the general population and persons suffering from many other chronic illnesses.