April 2011

Get Ready for Another Drive!
We'll be announcing new initiatives with the DRIVE4COPD soon. Get ready to participate and raise the profile of respiratory therapists and COPD, in this program that was named Healthcare Campaign of 2010 by PRWeek.

New Features Bring Respiratory Care into the Digital Age
Your Section eNews keeps you up-to-date with studies from the medical literature, but when it comes to respiratory care, the Journal is the first place any therapist should turn for the most relevant information. Thanks to some spiffy new features, Respiratory Care is now easier to read than ever before. Take a look at what they’ve added:

A podcast with summaries of the papers
A DigiMag version you can read on your computer screen or tablet device
Papers in HTML format with cross linking to references
New papers published ahead of print

Read more about these new features HERE.

Heliox vs. Oxygen in a Pediatric Model of HFNC
Researchers from Georgia State University who used a pediatric model of high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) to compare heliox vs. oxygen in aerosol delivery find the percent inhaled dose of albuterol was similar with heliox and oxygen at 3 L/min, but at 6 L/min drug deposition was ≥2-fold greater with heliox. The model consisted of a vibrating mesh nebulizer placed on the inspiratory inlet of a heated humidifier and heated wire circuit attached to a pediatric nasal cannula. The study was published ahead of print by Pediatric Pulmonology on Mar. 24. READ ABSTRACT

Closed Tracheal Suctioning Plus Volume Guarantee has Positive Impact on Cerebral Hemodynamics
A new study out of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences finds closed tracheal suctioning plus volume guarantee ventilation beats open tracheal suctioning plus intermittent mandatory ventilation when it comes to reducing the average magnitude of relative changes in mean cerebral blood-flow velocity (CBFv) in normotensive very low birth weight infants with normal cranial ultrasounds. The study was conducted among 75 infants who were monitored for mean CBFv, PCO2, and mean arterial blood pressure before, during, and after 220 tracheal suctioning sessions during the first week of life. The study was published ahead of print in the Journal of Perinatology on Feb. 17. READ ABSTRACT

Withdrawing NCPAP: Going Cold Turkey May be Best
Australian investigators who looked at previous studies on various strategies used to withdraw nasal CPAP (NCPAP) from preterm infants conclude the best method might be to simply stop the therapy once the infant meets predefined stability criteria. The review was based on three studies, one of which showed a significant decrease in oxygen therapy duration and length of stay for infants randomized to that strategy. They write, “Infants who have their NCPAP pressure weaned to a predefined level and then stop NCPAP completely have less total time on NCPAP and shorter durations of oxygen therapy and hospital stay compared with those that have NCPAP removed for a predetermined number of hours each day.” They call for the development of a clear definition of stability that can be used to guide withdrawal of the therapy. The study appeared in the February issue of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. READ ABSTRACT

Pediatric Asthma Hospitalization Outcomes Linked to Subchronic Air Pollution
Exposure to even subchronic air pollutants can markedly increase the cost of pediatric asthma hospitalizations, conclude Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers publishing ahead of print in Medical Care on Mar. 21. They arrived at that finding after linking pediatric asthma hospitalization discharge data from 1999–2007 with outdoor air pollution data. An average concentration of six pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide) near the hospital during the month of admission served as the predictor. Outcomes included asthma hospitalization length of stay, charges, and costs. All six of the pollutants had minimal correlation with the three outcomes in the unadjusted analyses. When the data were assessed in multivariable analyses, a one unit increase in monthly PM2.5 resulted in a $123 increase in charges and a $47 increase in costs. “Policy changes to reduce outdoor subchronic pollutant exposure may lead to improved asthma outcomes and substantial savings in health care spending, write the authors. READ ABSTRACT