[Prevalence of near fatal asthma and related risk factors in asthmatic patients in Kerman]

Asthma is one of the most common diseases worldwilde that can be prevented with optimal access to medical care. Since there is no data about the prevalence of risk factors of death caused by asthma in our region, the present study was performed to determine the prevalence risk factors of fatal asthma in asthmatic patients. This study was done on 200 asthmatic patients who referred to Be'sat clinic in Kerman/Iran. Asthma diagnosis was made through physical examination or spirometery. A questionnaire consisting demographic features and related risk factors was filled by the physician for each patient. Then, data were analyzed using SPSS15 software. Totally, 82% of the patients had at least one of the risk factors of death caused by asthma. The most common risk factors were being jobless [63%] and inability to pay for asthma medications [43%]. Moreever, 73% of patients had severe permanent asthma. Since most of the deaths from asthma are preventable and there are several efficient treatments for asthma, even small proportion of mortality related to asthma is unacceptable. Furthermore, because a majority of patients, in spite of the degree of their problem, had not been treated adequately, providing required education about asthma and its treatment for physicians, especially family physicians is necessary

[ correlation and level of agreement between arterial blood gas PCO[2] and end-tidal CO[2] in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation]

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD] represents a major public health problem. The course of COPD is characterized by episodic periods of worsening symptoms, termed exacerbations. Supplemental oxygen should be given to patients with COPD exacerbation without causing CO[2] retention. Arterial blood gas sampling is the gold standard for monitoring adequate oxygenation and for assessing CO[2] retention. Capnography is a noninvasive method based on measurement of end tidal carbon dioxide [ETCO[2]], which in this article we aim to evaluate the relationship between end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure [ETCO[2]] and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide [PaCO[2]] in patients with COPD exacerbation. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in 75 patients with COPD exacerbation between the ages of 41 and 85 who required hospitalization in second half of year 2010. Measurements of ETCO[2] and PaCO[2] were taken by ABG and capnography simultaneously: 1] at admission, 2] 30 minutes after treatment with supplemental oxygen and bronchodilators. There was a significant correlation between ETCO[2] and PaCO[2] at both stages [correlation coefficient: 0.773 and 0.783, respectively]. The mean [SD] difference for PaCO[2] and ETCO[2] were: 9.99 [7.17] and 9.97 [6.84] mmHg, respectively. Further analysis with Bland-Altman showed agreement between results of capnography and ABG in both stages of this study. In this study we found strong correlation and agreement between arterial blood gas pco[2] and end-tidal co[2] results in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease exacerbation

Helicobacter pylori in patients suffering from pulmonary disease

Recently, research of indirect evidence suggested a possible association between Helicobacter pylori and pulmonary disease. This study aimed to determine if H. pylori could be detected in endobronchial specimens collected from patients undergoing bronchoscopy. This prospective study was conducted on 34 consecutive patients with any type of lung disease undergoing bronchoscopy in which biopsy was required for their diagnosis. A written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Three bronchial mucosa biopsy samples were obtained using fenestrated biopsy forceps. One sample was used to determine urease activity, the second one for histopathological examination, and the third one for diagnosis. All subjects were fully informed regarding the gastroesophageal reflux disorder [GERD] Questionnaire. There were 34 patients with pulmonary diseases [12 males and 22 females, mean age 58.2 +/- 18.2 years] out of which, 11 [32.4%] had GERD. No significant difference was found between the histopathological assay and GERD. Our study found no direct evidence supporting the theory that H. pylori may cause pulmonary disease and no relation with GERD was detected. However, a possible indirect role could not be excluded. Further studies in patients with GERD and lung disease may reveal a potential pathogenic link between H. pylori and pulmonary disease