Glucocorticoid Use in Patients Hospitalized with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations.

Objective of the Study: Systemic glucocorticoid therapy can improve the outcomes of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). The study tried to investigate the use of glucocorticoids in AECOPD patients and the factors associated with the physicians' choice. Methodology: Patients with AECOPD over two periods were divided by the year of 2017 when GOLD and ERS/ATS Guideline for COPD were updated. Data of patients regarding the study was retrieved from medical records. Descriptive statistical analysis was used for the illustration of glucocorticoids use, and hypothesis testing for comparison over the periods. Results: Between 2010 and 2016, the proportion of ICS use was 522/640 (81.6%) and 341/452 (75.4%) between 2017 and 2020. COPD severity (GOLD C/D classification), bronchial asthma, percentage of neutrophils, and higher PaCO2 were factors associated with physicians' prescription of systemic glucocorticoids between 2010 and 2016. While the use of ICS at the stable stage, counts of neutrophils, and higher PaCO2 were influencing factors between 2017 and 2020. Over the two periods, 1-year recurrent rate decreased from 32.4% to 20.9%, with a significant statistical difference (P<0.001). Conclusion: The optimized use of glucocorticoids was found after the publishment of 2017 ERS/ATS Guideline for COPD, this improvement was associated with a decreased 1-year recurrence rate among AECOPD patients at our institution, underscoring the positive impact of guideline updates on patient outcomes.

Research on the matching characteristics of the theoretical digging force of a backhoe hydraulic excavator.

The theoretical digging force is the maximum digging resistance that an excavator can overcome, which is an important measure of its digging capacity. To study the matching of the digging capacity with the actual demand and the matching of the working device mechanism, a 36.5 t backhoe hydraulic excavator is used as an example to analyse the distributions of the digging resistance under two different normal digging area working conditions and the maximum digging resistance characteristics of the tool. An appropriate digging postures are selected, based on limit digging force and compound digging force models, the theoretical digging forces under the two working conditions are obtained and matched with the measured digging resistance force values and the limiting factors affecting the digging force. The results show that the average percentage of theoretical digging forces greater than the measured digging resistance under both calculation models is 84.06% rather than 100%. The results of different digging methods all indicate that small chamber locking of the boom cylinder is too often the limiting factor for the digging force, resulting in poor matching of the working device. This study provides guidance for the improvement of the theoretical digging force model and the evaluation of the matching characteristics of the working device.

Blood Eosinophil Levels and Prognosis of Hospitalized Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

BACKGROUD: Studies about the clinical significance of high eosinophil levels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are conflicting, and it has been less studied in hospitalized patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD).This study was to examine blood eosinophil levels in relation to the prognosis of hospitalized patients with AECOPD. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with AECOPD as their primary diagnosis and admitted to Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, from January 2010 to December 2016. The patients were assigned according to the count of eosinophil in peripheral blood at their first hospitalization. Patients were grouped as ≤100, 100-300, and ≥300 eosinophils/µL of peripheral blood. The use of glucocorticoids, duration of hospitalization, in-hospital mortality, and re-hospitalization were examined. RESULTS: Compared with the 100-300 eosinophils/µL group, the ≤100 eosinophils/µL group showed higher frequencies of fever, respiratory failure, and the use of systemic glucocorticoids. Eosinophil counts were not associated with in-hospital mortality and duration of hospitalization. The multivariable analysis showed that GOLD3/4 (odds ratio (OR)=2.04, 95%CI: 1.20-3.44, P = 0.008), systemic glucocorticoids (OR=1.84, 95%CI: 1.41-2.98, P = 0.012), mechanical ventilation (OR=2.66, 95%CI: 1.36-5.18, P = 0.004), and acute exacerbation in the past year before hospitalization (OR=2.03, 95%CI: 1.27-3.23, P = 0.003) were independently associated with acute exacerbation within 1 year after discharge. Eosinophil count was not associated with acute exacerbation within 1 year after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral blood eosinophil counts are not associated with the 1-year AECOPD prognosis.

Independent factors associated with pneumonia among hospitalized patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Acute exacerbations (AE) affect the prognosis of hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pneumonia further affects their prognosis and early diagnosis of pneumonia in AECOPD is important to initiate treatments. This study aimed to examine the differences between hospitalized AECOPD patients with and without pneumonia in order to identify risk factors of pneumonia among hospitalized patients with AECOPD.This was a retrospective case-control study of patients with COPD hospitalized at the respiratory ward of Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, from October 2010 to October 2013. Patients were divided into the pneumonia and nonpneumonia groups based on exudations or opacities on chest computed tomography (CT) at admission. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test and independent 2-sample ANOVA in SPSS 20.0. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors independently associated with pneumonia. P < .05 was considered statistically significant.A total of 164 patients were included. Smoking history (OR = 2.646, 95%CI 1.153-6.074, P = .022), use of drugs during the stable stage (OR = 0.435, 95%CI 0.216-0.877, P = .020), D-dimer levels (OR = 1.001, 95%CI 1.000-1.002, P = .049), percentage of neutrophils (OR = 0.271, 95%CI 0.078-0.940, P = .040), and magnitude of neutrophils increase (OR = 0.946, 95%CI 0.896-0.999, P = .046) were independently associated with pneumonia in patients with AECOPD. For severe and very severe COPD patients, smoking history (OR = 4.426, 95%CI 1.458-13.435, P = .009), use of drugs during the stable stage (OR = 0.384, 95%CI 0.168-0.877, P = .042), and fever (OR = 0.426, 95%CI 0.187-0.969, P = .023) were independently associated with pneumonia.Smoking history, use of drugs during the stable stage, and percentage of neutrophils are independently associated with CT-diagnosed pneumonia among hospitalized AECOPD patients.

Specific clinical manifestations of Nocardia: A case report and literature review.

Nocardiosis is a rare bacterial infection of either the lungs (pulmonary) or body (systemic) that usually affects immunocompromised individuals. It is caused by Gram-positive, aerobic actinomycetes of the Nocardia genus. Multiple high-density sheet shadows in both lungs along with nodules or cavities are the most common presentations of nocardiosis, whereas a large pulmonary mass is considered to be rare. However, there is no specificity in the clinical manifestation of the disease. Therefore, isolation and identification of Nocardia strains is the only reliable diagnostic method. The present study describes the cases of two male patients of Asian descent with nocardiosis. Chest computed tomography scans showed a suspected tumor mass in both patients. Microscopic analysis and culturing of tissue samples obtained using a bronchoscope detected the presence of Nocardia wallacei. Neither patient showed signs of immunosuppression. The present study aimed to improve the understanding of lung nocardiosis and demonstrated that pulmonary nocardiosis should be suspected in the case of non-immunocompromised patients with a large mass in the lung. Furthermore, a review of the literature on infection with Nocardia was conducted.