September 2008

National Respiratory Care Week: How Will You Celebrate?
If your facility is looking for ways to celebrate this year’s National Respiratory Care Week, coming up October 19-25, the AARC can help. The Association has placed some great resources on its RC WEEK PAGE, and if you can’t find something to pique your interest there, you can also consider hosting one of our special events, such as the HIGH SCHOOL CAREER PROJECT or the VENTILATOR 5K.

Need to purchase RC Week theme products? Find them in the AARC STORE.

Study Establishes Spirometry Reference Equations for 6-Year-Olds
A new study out of Demark has established reference values for spirometry in 6-year-olds. The values are based on tests conducted in 404 children participating in a longitudinal birth cohort study. Bronchodilator measurements were also performed in children with known asthma, possible asthma, and a control group. Results showed:

  • The two best values for FEV1 and FVC were within 5% of each other in 88% and 83% of children, respectively.
  • Linear regression analyses for 242 children included in the reference population demonstrated height to be the main predictor of all spirometric indices except FEV1/FVC.
  • FEV1, FEV75, and FVC correlated reasonably to anthropometric data in contrast to flow parameters.
  • Gender differences were found for FEV1, FVC, and FEV75, but not for flow parameters.
  • Bronchodilator tests showed a difference in Delta FEV1(mean) between healthy children and children with asthma (3.1% vs. 6.1%, P < 0.05). At a cut-off point of Delta FEV1 = 7.8%, bronchodilator tests had a sensitivity of 46% and a specificity of 92% for current asthma.

The study was published in the August issue of Pediatric Pulmonology. READ ABSTRACT

Abdominal Pressures During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and Their Effects on Pulmonary Function
Turkish investigators find the use of lower intra-abdominal pressures during laparoscopic cholecystectomy may lead to slightly more negative effects on FEF25-75 following the surgery. They arrived at that conclusion after studying preoperative and postoperative FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEF, and FEF25-75 values in 45 patients who underwent the procedure using intra-abdominal pressures of 8 mm Hg, 12 mm Hg, and 15 mm Hg. The study appeared in the August issue of Surgical Laparoscopy, Endoscopy & Percutaneous Techniques. READ ABSTRACT

Pulmonary Function in Children with Blood-Related Cancers
Children with malignant and hematological diseases often develop pulmonary complications. In a new study, Israeli researchers looked at pulmonary function at diagnosis and during a 5 year follow up in 90 patients to determine risk factors linked to respiratory deterioration. Results showed these children had lower than predicted pulmonary function values at diagnosis and following treatment, and specifically identified abnormal baseline FEF25-75 as a risk factor for the development of bronchiolitis obliterans in the setting of graft versus host disease. The RV/TLC also increased gradually in these patients over the course of the study. The authors call for “careful monitoring, especially of FEF25-75 and RV/TLC at baseline and in the first period after diagnosis” to identify children at risk for the complication. The investigation was published in the August 12 Epub edition of Pediatric Blood & Cancer. READ ABSTRACT

Lower Levels of Ozone Exposure May Cause Breathing Problems Too
A new study conducted by researchers from the Environmental Protection Agency has reevaluated earlier findings showing no significant affect on lung function from exposure to ozone (O3) at 0.06 ppm. In the original study, 30 healthy young adults were exposed to O3 at 0.08 ppm and 0.06 ppm. Exposure at 0.08 ppm showed detrimental effects on pulmonary function, but not exposure at 0.06 ppm. In this analysis, investigators controlled the results for filtered air responses, finding 24 of the 30 participants experienced on average a 2.85% reduction in FEV1 after exposure to O3 at 0.06 ppm, and 2 subjects had a greater than 10% decrease. “Exposure to 0.06 ppm O3 causes a biologically small but highly statistically significant decrease in mean FEV1 responses of young healthy adults,” write the authors. The report appeared in the August issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. READ ABSTRACT


 

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