Effects of acetylcysteine on micro-inflammation and pulmonary ventilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation.

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a serious complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, often characterized by increased morbidity and mortality. In traditional Chinese medicine, AECOPD is linked to phlegm-heat and blood-stasis, presenting symptoms like thick sputum, fever, and chest pain. It has been shown that acetylcysteine inhalation in conjunction with conventional therapy significantly reduced inflammatory markers and improved lung function parameters in patients with AECOPD, suggesting that acetylcysteine may be an important adjunctive therapy for patients with phlegm-heat-blood stasis type AECOPD. AIM: To investigate the effect of acetylcysteine on microinflammation and lung ventilation in patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis-type AECOPD. METHODS: One hundred patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis-type AECOPD were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment group received acetylcysteine inhalation (10% solution, 5 mL, twice daily) along with conventional therapy, whereas the control group received only conventional therapy. The treatment duration was 14 d. Inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) in the serum and sputum as well as lung function parameters (forced expiratory volume in one second, forced vital capacity, and peak expiratory flow) were assessed pre- and post-treatment. Acetylcysteine inhalation led to significant reductions in inflammatory markers and improvements in lung function parameters compared to those in the control group (P < 0.05). This suggests that acetylcysteine could serve as an effective adjunct therapy for patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis-type AECOPD. RESULTS: Acetylcysteine inhalation significantly reduced inflammatory markers in the serum and sputum and improved lung ventilation function parameters in patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis type AECOPD compared with the control group. These differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The study concluded that acetylcysteine inhalation had a positive effect on microinflammation and lung ventilation function in patients with this type of AECOPD, suggesting its potential as an adjuvant therapy for such cases. CONCLUSION: Acetylcysteine inhalation demonstrated significant improvements in reducing inflammatory markers in the serum and sputum, as well as enhancing lung ventilation function parameters in patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis type AECOPD. These findings suggest that acetylcysteine could serve as a valuable adjuvant therapy for individuals with this specific type of AECOPD, offering benefits for managing microinflammation and optimizing lung function.

The status and influencing factors of lung ventilation function in employees exposed to dust in enterprises of the XPCC, China.

Background: Occupational health is closely related to harmful factors in the workplace. Dust is the primary contributing factor causing impaired lung ventilation function among employees with dust exposure, and their lung ventilation function may also be influenced by other factors. We aimed at assessing the status and influencing factors of lung ventilation function among employees exposed to dust in the enterprises of the Eighth Division located in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), China. Methods: Employees exposed to dust in enterprises of the Eighth Division located in the XPCC in 2023 were selected as the subjects of this cross-sectional study. Their lung ventilation function indicators were extracted from health examination records, and an on-site electronic questionnaire survey was conducted among them. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the factors influencing lung ventilation function. Results: According to the fixed value criteria, the abnormal rates of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/FVC were 31.6, 1.4, and 0.4%, respectively. The lower limit of normal (LLN) criteria could overestimate the rate of abnormal lung ventilation function. Several factors were related to impaired lung ventilation function, including gender, age, education level, marital status, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, physical activity, the type of dust, industry, enterprise scale, occupation, length of service, working shift, monthly income, and respiratory protection. Conclusions: A relatively low abnormal rate of lung ventilation function was observed among employees exposed to dust in enterprises of the Eighth Division, XPCC, and their lung ventilation function was associated with various factors. Effective measures should be taken urgently to reduce the effects of adverse factors on lung ventilation function, thereby further protecting the health of the occupational population.

Correlation between chronic periodontitis and pulmonary ventilation function / 中国基层医药

Objective:To investigate the correlation between chronic periodontitis and pulmonary ventilation function.Methods:A total of 135 patients with chronic periodontitis who received treatment in Yuyao People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province between June 2014 and December 2019 were included in this study. They were divided into group A (stage I, initial lesion, n = 45), group B (stage II, early lesion, n = 45), group C (stage III, confirmed lesion, n = 45) according to the severity of periodontal lesion. Lung ventilation function indexes and serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were compared among the three groups. The correlation between periodontal condition and lung ventilation function indexes was analyzed. Results:Probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), number of missing teeth, alveolar bone resorption level were (1.67 ± 0.65) mm, (2.48 ± 0.44) mm, 0 pieces, and (1.38 ± 0.23) mm in group A, (2.05 ± 0.30) mm, (4.04 ± 0.97) mm, 1 piece, (3.37± 0.73) mm in group B, and (2.23 ± 0.47) mm, (5.17 ± 0.75) mm, 3 pieces, (6.48 ± 0.62) mm in group C. With the worsening of the disease, PD, CAL, number of missing teeth, and alveolar bone resorption level were gradually increased. PD, CAL and alveolar bone resorption level in group C were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 4.68, 20.75, 51.74, all P < 0.001) and group B ( t = 2.17, 6.18, 21.78, P = 0.033, < 0.001, < 0.001). PD, CAL and alveolar bone resorption level in group B were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 3.56, 9.82, 17.44, all P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the number of missing teeth ( P > 0.05). Serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels were (11.28 ± 4.26) ng/L, (7.48 ± 1.97) ng/L, (14.59 ± 2.11) ng/L in group A, (17.09 ± 4.91) ng/L, (10.82 ± 2.10) ng/L, (19.95 ± 4.48) ng/L in group B, and (26.47 ± 5.86) ng/L, (15.06 ± 2.75) ng/L, (33.76 ± 6.30) ng/L] in group C. With the worsening of the disease, serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels were gradually increased. Serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in group C were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 14.06, 15.03, 19.36, P < 0.001) and group B ( t = 8.23, 8.22, 11.98, all P < 0.001). Serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in group B were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 6.00, 7.78, 7.26, P < 0.001). The percentage of the maximum expiratory volume in the first second to the predicted value (FEV 1%pre) and the ratio of the maximum expiratory volume in the first second to the forced vital capacity (FEV 1/FVC) were (81.53 ± 6.30)% and (68.73 ± 4.65)% in group A, (70.47 ± 5.25)% and (60.86 ± 3.42)% in group B, and (59.02 ± 3.41)% and (56.93 ± 4.21)% in group C. With the worsening of the disease, FEV 1%pre and FEV 1/FVC were gradually decreased. FEV 1%pre and FEV 1/FVC in group C were significantly lower than those in group A ( t = 21.08, 12.62, both P < 0.001) and group B ( t = 12.27, 4.86, both P < 0.001). FEV 1%pre and FEV 1/FVC in group B were significantly lower than those in group A ( t = 9.05, 9.25, both P < 0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels were negatively correlated with FEV1%pre and FEV 1/FVC ( r = -0.50, -0.28, -0.42, -0.61, -0.34, -0.51, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:There is a correlation between chronic periodontitis and pulmonary ventilation function. Inflammatory mediators may be involved in chronic periodontitis as internal systemic factors.