Effect of Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Pulmonary Fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, progressive lung condition that involves lung tissue scarring and thickening. The effects of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in post-covid pulmonary fibrosis (PCPF) and other forms of fibrosis together have not been evaluated. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation on pulmonary function, functional capacity, and health-related quality of life in people with pulmonary fibrosis (post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), pulmonary fibrosis secondary to interstitial lung disease (ILD), pulmonary fibrosis secondary to bronchiectasis). METHODS: A single-group pretest-posttest experimental study was performed after recruiting 98 pulmonary fibrosis subjects from K.M.C hospitals. After being screened for the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 45 subjects were analyzed, and 6 subjects were lost to follow-up.  A home-based pulmonary rehabilitation program was carried out for 8 weeks (warm-up, stretching exercises, aerobic exercise, strength training for upper limb and lower limb, breathing exercises mainly involved; others: energy saving techniques, controlled coughing techniques, dyspnea relieving positions). The program was supervised via weekly phone calls. Pulmonary function (Pulmonary function test), exercise capacity (6-minute walk test), dyspnea (modified Borg scale), and health-related quality of life (SF-36) were evaluated before and after the intervention. During the enrollment and after the 6-minute walk test, saturation of peripheral oxygen (SPO2) level was also evaluated pre-intervention and after the 8-weeks program. RESULTS: Pulmonary function [FVC(L) t = -12.52, p<0.05; FEV1(L) t = -2.56, p<0.05; FEV1/FVC t = 7.98, p<0.05 and DLCO (ml/min/mmHg) t = -5.13, p<0.05], 6MWD [MD 88.66; p<0.05] and HRQOL measured by SF-36 scores (p<0.05) were improved significantly. Both the baseline SPO2 level before the 6MWT [MD 1.07, p<0.05] and the SPO2 level after the 6MWT [MD 1.16, p<0.05] showed a significant improvement. The rating of perceived exertion(dyspnea) [MD 1.30, p<0.05] was reduced significantly after the 8-week program. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that home-based pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective option for improving lung function and physical functional capacity by reducing dyspnea perception and improving the saturation of peripheral oxygen (SPO2) level, and enhancing the quality of life in people with pulmonary fibrosis.

Psychogenic Polydipsia - Management Challenges.

Compulsive water drinking or psychogenic polydipsia is now increasingly seen in psychiatric populations. Effects of increased water intake can lead to hyponatremia causing symptoms of nausea, vomiting, seizures, delirium and can even be life threatening if not recognized and managed early. Here we present a 35-year old adult who was diagnosed with psychogenic polydipsia and was successfully managed with a combination of pharmacotherapy, fluid restriction and psychosocial management.

Leriche Syndrome Presenting as Depression with Erectile Dysfunction.

Leriche syndrome results from thrombotic occlusion of the abdominal aorta immediately above the site of its bifurcation. Impotence in leriche syndrome is caused due to proximal obstruction, commonly involving isolated common iliac, internal iliac, internal pudendal or dorsalis penis artery. The symptoms of Leriche syndrome include intermittent and bilateral claudication, pallor, coldness and fatigue in lower extremities. Data regarding psychiatric morbidity in Leriche syndrome is unavailable. We hereby report the case of Leriche syndrome, presenting to psychiatry outpatient department with depressive disorder and erectile dysfunction (ED) with focus on dilemmas faced in the diagnosis and management in psychiatry.

Delusional Disorder in a Patient with Corpus Callosum Agenesis.

Agenesis of corpus callosum is rare and associated neuropsychiatric abnormalities reported are epilepsy, Asperger's syndrome, learning problems, depression, schizophrenia, conduct disorder and conversion symptoms. Schizophrenia is the most common psychiatric disorder reported among corpus callosum agenesis. We report a rare case of delusional disorder with corpus callosum agenesis and seizure disorder. The patient presented with delusions of persecution towards younger brother and mother, disturbed sleep and reduced appetite. She had a history of seizure disorder of ten years duration, which was controlled with carbamazepine and levetiracetam. Neurological examination was normal. On MRI, corpus callosum agenesis was detected. She was put on an atypical antipsychotic quetiapine to which her psychiatric symptoms responded completely.