Correlation Study between COPD and Heart Failure in Elderly Patient.

Heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are acquiring significant morbidity and mortality and the amalgamation presents many diagnostic challenges. Assessment of cardiac and pulmonary function by echocardiography and pulmonary function tests should be executed in all patients with cautious explanation to avoid misdiagnosis and wrong treatment. Both conditions share overlapping pathophysiological processes. Both functional status and quality of life are greatly influenced by these and associated with high morbidity and mortality rates leading to increase the health-care costs. Although both diseases have been studied extensively, information about the correlation between heart failure and COPD is lacking. Classifying the reason of breathing symptoms among people with both the diseases can be demanding. Therefore it is plausible that a considerable proportion of patients with a diagnosis of COPD have associated heart failure, which ruins unrecognized by primary care physicians or pulmonologists. This study's aim was to assess the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure among elderly patients with chronic cough and dyspnea. This study was done in 100 patient's ≥40 years with a GP (general physician) diagnosis of COPD. Descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in the Department of Medicine, Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, Bogra, Bangladesh from November 2011 to April 2012. A total of 100 cases of chronic cough with breathlessness coming into out patient department and admitted into Department of Medicine of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, Bogra, Bangladesh were included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Informed written consent was taken from the participants and data was collected by a questionnaire and relevant investigations were done. Data were analyzed with SPSS software and were expressed as mean±SE and significance level of differences among the group was calculated by unpaired student's 't' test. In this study among 100 participating patients with a diagnosis of COPD by their physician, in 24(24%) patients had previously unrecognized heart failure. Pearson Correlation study showed that there is significant positive correlation between FEV1/FVC and Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and there is also significant positive correlation between FEV1/FVC and Total Left Ventricular Dysfunction. By this study we recommend that evaluation and assessment of cardiac status is very important in elderly patients with COPD.

Unrecognized Heart Failure in Elderly Patient with COPD.

Both of heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases are in the elderly. They have an important impact on quality of life and functional status, show high morbidity and mortality rates and lead to extensive health-care costs. Although both diseases have been studied extensively, information about the prevalence of heart failure in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients is lacking. For people who have both the diseases, identifying the cause of breathing symptoms can be challenging. It seems therefore plausible that a considerable proportion of patients with a diagnosis of COPD have concomitant heart failure, which remains unrecognized by primary care physicians or pulmonologists. The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of heart failure in patients with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The prevalence of previously unknown heart failure was assessed in 100 patients ≥40 years with a GP (General physician) diagnosis of COPD, in a stable phase of their disease. This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in the Department of Medicine, Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College hospital, Bogra, Bangladesh from November 2011 to April 2012. A total of 100 cases of chronic breathlessness coming into out patient department and admitted into Department of Medicine of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, Bogra were included based on inclusion & exclusion criteria. After taking informed written consent data was collected by a questionnaire and relevant investigations were done. Then collected data was analyzed and were expressed as mean ±SE and statistical significance of difference among the group was calculated by unpaired students 't' test. In this study we founded among 100 participating patients with a diagnosis of COPD by their physician, in 24 (24%) patients had previously unrecognized heart failure. Therefore, by this study we recommend that evaluation and assessment of cardiac status is very important in elderly patients with COPD.

A fatal cobra-bite in a snake expert.

A 35-year-old so called snake-expert from Thakurgaon district was admitted in Medicine department of Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RpMCH), Rangpur, Bangladesh on 2nd November 2007 with history of bites by a cobra snake. He was famous for his outstanding works to establish a snake farm first ever in Bangladesh. He had a collection of more than one hundred snakes of different species. He used to hatch eggs of the snakes, feed the young-snakes, collect venoms and sell those. Everyday many visitors used to visit his farm to watch exciting games with poisonous snakes. Several satellite television (TV) channels and some daily newspapers had covered him on different occasions. He was accidentally bitten by a newly caught hungry cobra snake while recording for a satellite TV channel. Following bites he was brought to the hospital three and a half hours later. By that time, neurotoxicity developed. Repeated doses of Anti Snake Venom (ASV) along with respiratory support and other supportive cares were provided. Despite utmost care feasible at RpMCH, patient expired around 49 hours later.