Daily stress and anxiety and their relation to daily fluctuations of symptoms in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients

Although stress and anxiety have long been assumed to play an exacerbatory role in asthma, no study has systematically documented that daily exacerbations of asthma symptoms are related to stress and/or anxiety. In this study, 24 airways obstruction patients (12 asthmatics and 12 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients) were instructed to monitor the severity of daily respiratory symptoms. In addition, subjects recorded their daily anxiety level and the number and perceived impact of daily stressors. The results showed that although there were differences between high- and low-stress days for both groups, there were no differences between groups on symptom severity or between high- and low-anxiety days, as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Thus, although the number and impact of daily stressors were found to be directly associated with the severity of asthma symptoms, anxiety does not appear to have a direct role in the exacerbation of asthma. The findings failed to support the anxiety theory of asthma but provided an explanation for the poor results obtained in previous treatment studies which employed anxiety management with asthmatics.     

Effects of telephone support on exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis

The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of disease education or pulmonary rehabilitation programs assisted with telephone support on physical capacity and quality of life (QOL) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library was conducted until May 2017. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effects of telephone-assisted intervention versus a control group on exercise tolerance and QOL in patients with COPD were included. Two independent authors assessed the methodological quality of the trials using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. A meta-analysis was conducted with the Revman5.3 to quantify the effects of telephone-assisted interventions on walking capacity and QOL. In total, 10 studies involving 1037 participants were included. Due to the effect of telephone-assisted interventions, statistically significant results were found on Saint-George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) symptom scores [standard mean difference (SMD) ?.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) ?.33, ?.03, p-value .02)], SGRQ impact scores [SMD ?.35, 95% CI ?.60, ?.10, p-value .006)], SGRQ activity scores [SMD ?.30, 95% CI ?.45, ?.15, p-value < .0001)], SGRQ total score [SMD ?.36, 95% CI ?.51, ?.21, p-value < .00001)]. The effects on 6-min walk test (6MWT) and all Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ) subscales were not significant (p > .05) based on the insufficient evidence. In conclusion, the role of telephone-assisted interventions in the management of COPD remains equivocal. Some encouraging results were seen with regard to SGRQ symptom, SGRQ impact, SGRQ activity and SGRQ total score. We believe that more methodologically rigorous large-scale randomized controlled trials are necessary to answer this study question.     

慢性房颤导管消融策略的原则和个体化治疗

目前,慢性房颤导管消融的成功率及复发率均不尽人意。由于缺乏统一术式,慢性房颤消融采用的是肺静脉隔离、电图靶向消融及线性消融等多术式综合策略。在房颤消融策略上,既要坚持肺静脉电隔离原则,又要体现消融术式选择和实施的个体化,阶梯消融综合术式的推出就是这种思维方法的具体运用。     

经皮肺活检对肺部病变的诊断价值

经皮肺活检技术应用已有100多年历史。随着影像技术的不断进步,目前已发展成为肺部疾病的重要诊断技术。本文综述了经皮肺活检对肺部病变的诊断价值。并探讨和比较了不同引导技术的特点,以及适应症、并发症及其处理。     

呼吸危重症临床决策中的若干问题

在临床实践中,呼吸危重症的诊断和治疗存在着一些不同的观点。就其中某些热点问题,如慢性阻塞性肺疾病合并哮喘的诊断和机械通气的指征、肺栓塞的诊断、急性呼吸窘迫综合征的治疗、呼吸重症监护病房的建设和呼吸危重症的伦理学问题进行阐述,以期提高对呼吸危重症的认识。     

慢性阻塞性肺疾病健康教育的作用及面临的问题

将82例稳定期COPD患者随机分为两组,治疗组接受为期半年的健康教育,对照组不接受健康教育。观察半年前后两组的吸烟比例、呼吸困难评分、吸入治疗比例及正确率和半年内急性发作次数;并比较半年前后的生活质量评分、疗效评估和肺功能指标。发现：半年的健康教育可增加稳定期COPD患者的戒烟率,减少反复急性发作,从而提高生活质量。缺乏经济效益及未受到足够的重视和宣传,制约了健康教育的普及,因此发展社区卫生医疗服务势在必行。     

医师知识结构和思维方式与肺血栓栓塞症诊断

肺血栓栓塞症是常见的临床病症,因其临床表现多样,易发生误诊漏诊而导致较高的病死率。但“凡事预则立,不预则废”,充分掌握肺血栓栓塞症的知识、以正确的思维方式引导临床诊疗可以有效减少和避免误诊漏诊。     

Religious Coping, Psychological Distress and Disability Among Patients with End-Stage Pulmonary Disease

A growing body of literature suggests that individuals who face life-threatening situations turn to religion to help them cope. Religion has been cited as the most frequently used resource to cope with stressful events (K. I. Pargament, 1997). The present study was the first to investigate the religious coping methods of patients with lung disease who are awaiting transplant and to identify which coping methods are associated with distress and disability. The study was an exploratory, cross-sectional analysis of 90 patients with end-stage pulmonary disease who were being evaluated for transplant. Results indicated that religiosity was highly prevalent. Patients employed a combination of religious coping efforts, but mostly used coping methods considered positive. Patients with late-onset pulmonary diseases used religious coping strategies more frequently than patients with cystic fibrosis. Hierarchical regression analyses identified a subset of religious coping strategies that predicted 27%, 14%, and 34% of the unique variance in depression, overall disability, and psychosocial disability, respectively.     

环肺静脉消融策略在房颤治疗中地位的思考

房颤是临床上最常见的快速心律失常之一,对患者危害极大。由于对它发病机制的认识不同导致了临床上不同的治疗方法。肺静脉及环肺静脉开口的肺静脉前庭在房颤的发生和维持中的作用已引起人们的共识。本文通过对房颤机制认识的回顾及治疗方法进展,来探讨环肺静脉消融在临床实践中的重要性,为将来的治疗策略提供依据。     

Illness perception in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Illness perception (IP) concerns how patients evaluate living with a disease. To get a broader understanding of IP in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we investigated whether breathlessness is an important precursor of IP and whether IP in its turn is related to mental health, physical health and global quality of life (QOL). One hundred and fifty‐four patients with COPD participated in a cross‐sectional survey. Participants underwent pulmonary function testing, provided socio‐demographic and clinical information, and completed the following standardized instruments: Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Respiratory Quality of Life Questionnaire, Short‐Form 12 Health Survey and the Quality of Life Scale. Multiple regression analyses were performed. A high IP score indicates that a patient believes that his/her illness represents a threat. Participants with a high score on the IP dimensions consequences, identity, concern and emotional representation, experienced more breathlessness. High scores on the IP dimensions consequences, identity and concern were associated with impaired physical health and high scores on the IP dimensions consequences, identity and emotional representation were associated with impaired mental health. Impaired global QOL was associated with high scores on the IP dimensions consequences, identity, concern, coherence and emotional representation. The strength of the associations between breathlessness and physical/mental health and global QOL decreased when certain dimensions of IP were included as predictors, indicating that IP to some extent acts as a mediating factor. These findings may have practical implications of patient counselling by helping COPD patients to cope with their disease by restructuring their personal models of illness.