ABSTRACT
Spirometry is a crucial test used in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic has posed numerous challenges in performing spirometry. Dynamic-ventilatory digital radiography (DR) provides sequential chest radiography images during respiration with lower doses of radiation than conventional X-ray fluoroscopy and computed tomography. Recent studies revealed that parameters obtained from dynamic DR are promising for evaluating pulmonary function of COPD patients. We report two cases of COPD evaluated by dynamic-ventilatory DR for pulmonary function and treatment efficacy and discuss the potential of dynamic DR for evaluating COPD therapy.
Subject(s)
Lung/diagnostic imaging , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/diagnostic imaging , Radiographic Image Enhancement/methods , Radiography, Thoracic/methods , Aged , Asthma/diagnosis , Asthma/drug therapy , Bronchodilator Agents/therapeutic use , Drug Combinations , Fluticasone/therapeutic use , Formoterol Fumarate/therapeutic use , Glycopyrrolate/analogs & derivatives , Glycopyrrolate/therapeutic use , Humans , Indans/therapeutic use , Lung/physiology , Male , Middle Aged , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/drug therapy , Quinolones/therapeutic use , Spirometry , Tiotropium Bromide/therapeutic use , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Nafamostat mesylate (NM) may prove to be one of the key drugs effective against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because of its anti-viral properties and the potential to manage coagulopathy. However, NM tends to increase serum potassium levels. CASE SUMMARY: We observed hyperkalemia immediately after NM administration (200 mg/d) in four consecutive patients who were admitted to the Kanazawa University Hospital with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Urinary potassium excretion decreased after NM administration in three patients who underwent urinalysis. CONCLUSION: NM is likely to produce hyperkalemia in patients with COVID-19. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor serum potassium values closely after NM initiation in COVID-19 patients who need respiratory support.