ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is one of the most common complications of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), but its severe form is uncommon. Various factors play an important role in the occurrence and severity of pulmonary hypertension in patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on patients with COPD referred to an emergency department over a one-year period. The tests-including complete blood count (CBC) and arterial blood gas (ABG), pulmonary functional test (PFT) and echocardiography-were performed for all patients to measure mPAP (mean pulmonary artery pressure), ejection fraction (EF) and body mass index (BMI). The prevalence of severe pulmonary hypertension and its associated factors were investigated in these patients. RESULTS: A total of 1078 patients was included in the study, of whom 628 (58.3%) were male and 450 (41.7%) were female. The mean age of the patients undergoing the study was 70.1±12.2. A total of 136 (13.7%) of them had mPAP (mm Hg)≥40mm Hg as severe pulmonary hypertension. Following multivariable analysis by using the backward conditional method, it was shown that seven variables had a significant correlation with severe PH. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that there is an independent correlation between hypoxia, hypopnea and compensatory metabolic alkalosis, polycythemia, left ventricular dysfunction, emaciation, and cachectic with severe pulmonary hypertension. The prevalence of severe PH in these patients was 13.7%.
Subject(s)
Hypertension, Pulmonary/etiology , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/complications , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alkalosis/complications , Body Mass Index , Cachexia/complications , Cross-Sectional Studies , Emaciation/complications , Female , Forced Expiratory Volume/physiology , Humans , Hypertension, Pulmonary/physiopathology , Hypoxia/complications , Male , Middle Aged , Polycythemia/complications , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/physiopathology , Risk Factors , Stroke Volume/physiology , Ventricular Dysfunction, Left/complicationsABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of low-dose daclizumab for prevention of acute kidney allograft rejection and to evaluate differences between men and women receiving living donor transplants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was performed on 120 living donor kidney transplant recipients. Participants in the case group received a low dose of daclizumab (1 mg/kg) before and 14 days after transplantation in addition to their standard immunosuppressant regimen. Participants in the control group received the standard treatment protocol only. Acute rejection episodes and graft survival were compared between the two groups. Additionally, graft survival of women and men was compared separately between the two groups. RESULTS: Acute rejection was significantly less frequent in the daclizumab group than in the controls (6.7% versus 18.3%; P = .048). The 6-month survival rates were 95% (95% CI, 92% to 98%) in the daclizumab group and 85% (95% CI, 81% to 89%) in the control group (P = .03). The 6-month graft survival rates of the women were 97% (95% CI, 95% to 99%) in the daclizumab group and 74% (95% CI, 65% to 83%) in the control group (P = .02). However, the difference in graft survival rates was not significant among the men. CONCLUSIONS: The use of induction therapy with two doses of daclizumab reduces the incidence of acute rejection and improves graft survival of living donor kidney transplant recipients. This study shows that these effects are prominent among the female recipients.
