Trial registration: These studies were conducted before clinical trial registration was required; therefore, clinical trial registration numbers are not available.
Trial registration: These studies were conducted before clinical trial registration was required; therefore, clinical trial registration numbers are not available.
This paper describes developments in the fields of asthma and COPD self-management interventions (SMIs) over the last two decades and discusses future directions. Evidence around SMIs has exponentially grown. Efficacy on group level is convincing and both asthma and COPD SMIs are currently recommended by respiratory guidelines. Core components of asthma SMIs are defined as education, action plans, and regular review, with some discussion about self-monitoring. Exacerbation action plans are defined as an integral part of COPD management. Patient's adherence to SMI's is however inadequate and significantly reducing the intervention's impact. Adherence could be improved by tailoring of SMIs to patients' needs, health beliefs, and capabilities; the use of shared decision making; and optimising the communication between patients and health care providers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health innovations have rapidly been introduced and expanded. Digital technology use may increase efficiency, flexibility, and efficacy of SMIs. Furthermore, artificial intelligence can be used to e.g., predict exacerbations in action plans. Research around digital health innovations to ensure evidence-based practice is of utmost importance. Current implementation of respiratory SMIs is not satisfactory. Implementation research should be used to generate further insights, with cost-effectiveness, policy (makers), and funding being significant determinants.
Background: Chronic lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, are associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, few data are available regarding the risk of dementia in individuals with bronchiectasis.
Objectives: To explore the association between bronchiectasis and the risk of incident dementia using a longitudinal population-based cohort.
Methods: A total of 4,068,560 adults older than 50 years without previous dementia were enrolled from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database in 2009. They were followed up until the date of the diagnosis of dementia or December 31, 2020. The study exposure was the diagnosis of bronchiectasis, and the primary outcome was incident dementia comprising Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
Results: During the median follow-up duration of 9.3 years, the incidence of all-cause dementia was 1.6-fold higher in individuals with bronchiectasis than in those without bronchiectasis (15.0 vs. 9.3/1000 person-years, p < .001). In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, the risk of all dementia was significantly higher in individuals with bronchiectasis than in those without bronchiectasis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.14). In a subgroup analysis by dementia type, individuals with bronchiectasis had an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease compared to those without bronchiectasis (aHR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.12); the risk of vascular dementia did not significantly differ between the two groups (aHR 1.05, 95% CI 0.90-1.21).
Conclusion: Bronchiectasis was associated with an increased risk of dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative condition noteworthy for upper and lower motor neuron death. Involvement of respiratory motor neuron pools leads to progressive pathology. These impairments include decreases in neural activation and muscle coordination, progressive airway obstruction, weakened airway defenses, restrictive lung disease, increased risk of pulmonary infections, and weakness and atrophy of respiratory muscles. These neural, airway, pulmonary, and neuromuscular changes deteriorate integrated respiratory-related functions including sleep, cough, swallowing, and breathing. Ultimately, respiratory complications account for a large portion of morbidity and mortality in ALS. This state-of-the-art review highlights applications of respiratory therapies for ALS, including lung volume recruitment, mechanical insufflation-exsufflation, non-invasive ventilation, and respiratory strength training. Therapeutic acute intermittent hypoxia, an emerging therapeutic tool for inducing respiratory plasticity will also be introduced. A focus on emerging evidence and future work underscores the common goal to continue to improve survival for patients living with ALS.
Background/objectives: The role of palliative care in the support of patients with neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) is generally recognised in spite of the scarcity of condition-specific evidence in the literature.
Methods: We have focussed specifically on palliative and end-of-life care for patients whose neuromuscular disease has an impact on their respiratory function. Reviewing the literature, we have examined where existing palliative care knowledge can be applied to the specific challenges faced by patients with NMDs, identifying where lessons learnt during the management of one condition may need to be judiciously applied to others.
Results: We highlight lessons for clinical practice centring on six themes: management of complex symptoms; crisis support; relief of caregiver strain; coordination of care; advance care planning; and end of life care.
Conclusions: The principles of palliative care are well suited to addressing the complex needs of patients with NMDs and should be considered early in the course of illness rather than limited to care at the end of life. Embedding relationships with specialist palliative care services as part of the wider neuromuscular multidisciplinary team can facilitate staff education and ensure timely referral when more complex palliative care problems arise.
Aim: This study retrospectively analyses the impact of the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic on route of presentation and staging in lung cancer compared to the 2 years before and after implementation of the Leicester Optimal Lung Cancer Pathway (LOLCP) in Leicester, United Kingdom. Method: Electronic databases and hospital records were used to identify all patients diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018 (pre-LOLCP), 2019 (post-LOLCP), and March 2020-2021 (post-COVID-19 lockdown). Information regarding patient characteristics, performance status, stage, and route of diagnosis was documented and analysed. Emergency presentation was defined as diagnosis of new lung cancer being made after unscheduled attendance to urgent or emergency care facility. Results: Following implementation of the LOLCP pathway, there was a significant decrease in emergency presentations from 26.8 to 19.6% (p = 0.002) with a stage shift from 33.9% early stage disease to 40.3%. These improved outcomes were annulled during the COVID-19 pandemic, with emergency presentations increasing to 38.9% (p < 0.001) and a reduction in early-stage lung cancer diagnoses to 31.5%. There was a 61% decline in 2 week wait referrals but no significant decline in the LOLCP direct-to-CT referrals. Conclusion: We have demonstrated a significant increase in late-stage lung cancer diagnoses and emergency presentations during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The causes for these changes are likely to be multifactorial. The long-term effect on lung cancer mortality remains to be seen and is an important focus of future study.
Objective: To identify the characteristics of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who require hospitalisation for exacerbations.
Methods: People with COPD were recruited either during hospitalisation or from out-patient respiratory medicine clinics. Hospital admissions were tracked throughout the 5-months recruitment period. For participants who were admitted, hospital readmissions were tracked for at least 30 days following discharge. Participants were grouped as either needing; (i) no hospital admission during the study period (no admission; ø-A), (ii) one or more hospital admissions during the study period but no readmission within 30 days of discharge (no rapid readmission; ø-RR) or (iii) one or more hospital admissions with a readmission within 30 days of discharge (rapid readmission; RR).
Results: Compared with the ø-A group (n=211), factors that independently increased the risk of ø-RR (n=146) and/or RR (n=57) group membership were being aged >60 years, identifying as an Indigenous person (relative risk ratio, 95% confidence interval 7.8 [1.8 to 34.0]) and the use of a support person or community service for activities of daily living (1.5 [1.0 to 2.4]. A body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 was protective.
Conclusions: Variables recorded at the bedside or in clinic provided information on hospitalisation risk.