Project description:BackgroundPeople with pulmonary hypertension (PH) are not routinely referred for exercise rehabilitation despite the potential for reducing breathlessness and improving quality of life. We describe the development of a supervised pulmonary hypertension exercise rehabilitation (SPHERe) programme for people with PH.MethodsDevelopment was completed in three phases: (1) systematic review, (2) stakeholder engagement with consensus from patients and experts and (3) prepilot intervention acceptability testing. We completed systematic reviews to identify international cardiopulmonary rehabilitation guidance and trials of exercise-based interventions for people with PH. Evidence from systematic reviews and stakeholder consensus shaped the SPHERe intervention, including addition of individual behavioural support sessions to promote exercise adherence. The draft SPHERe intervention was ratified through discussions with multidisciplinary professionals and people living with PH. We acceptability tested the centre-based intervention with eight participants in a prepilot development phase which identified a number of condition-specific issues relating to safety and fear avoidance of activity. Comprehensive intervention practitioner training manuals were produced to ensure standardised delivery. Participant workbooks were developed and piloted. Trial recruitment began in January 2020 but was subsequently suspended in March 2020 further to COVID-19 pandemic 'lockdowns'. In response to the pandemic, we undertook further development work to redesign the intervention to be suitable for exclusively home-based online delivery. Recruitment to the revised protocol began in June 2021.DiscussionThe final SPHERe intervention incorporated weekly home-based online group exercise and behavioural support 'coaching' sessions supervised by trained practitioners, with a personalised home exercise plan and the optional loan of a stationary exercise bike. The intervention was fully manualised with clear pathways for assessment and individualised exercise prescription. The clinical and cost-effectiveness of the SPHERe online rehabilitation intervention is currently being tested in a UK multicentre randomised controlled trial.Trial registration numberISCRTN10608766.
Project description:Given the general utility of lung ultrasound for the evaluation of respiratory failure in acutely ill patients, it is logical to consider its specific advantages in coronavirus disease 2019-related pulmonary disease. The authors, representing the extensive experience of the North American and European coronavirus disease 2019 epicenters, present an ultrasound scanning protocol and report on the common associated ultrasound findings.
Project description:IntroductionDuring the current pandemic, there has been a paucity of Greek data in terms of recording the general long-term functional status of patients after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations, as well as very little information regarding rehabilitation services nationwide and their utilization.Objective-designThis is a prospective cohort study, including 92 adults discharged from the Infectious Disease Unit of a third-level hospital in Greece after hospitalization with COVID-19. Demographics and disease severity data was collected upon admission and symptoms at discharge, 4 months and 1 year. Following rating of 12 common symptoms on a Likert scale, quality-of-life data and accessibility to rehabilitation services were compared among the 3 time points.ResultsAt discharge, the most prevalent complaints were fatigue, exertional dyspnoea and difficulty walking. At 4 months, these 3 remained among the most prevalent symptoms, while pain and memory/loss concentration remained at high numbers as well. Finally, at the 1-year mark, the percentages of patients reporting fatigue, exertional dyspnoea and pain were the highest. At the 4-month follow-up, only 4.3% of the study participants had visited a rehabilitation facility of any kind, whereas at the 1-year mark the percentage rose to 10.9%.ConclusionA clinically relevant number of participants experienced at least one post-COVID-19 hospitalization symptom. Quality of life was markedly affected by the longer-term effects of the disease. The percentage of people finally attending any kind of rehabilitation service was poor. With thousands more being infected and needing hospitalization nationwide daily, the need for the inclusion of relevant rehabilitation programmes in the Greek healthcare system appears imminent.
Project description:BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) has been reported in ~5%-10% of critically ill COVID-19 patients. However, incidence varies widely (0%-33%) across hospitals, most cases are unproven, and CAPA definitions and clinical relevance are debated.MethodsWe reframed the debate by asking, what is the likelihood that patients with CAPA have invasive aspergillosis? We use diagnostic test performance in other clinical settings to estimate positive predictive values (PPVs) and negative predictive values (NPVs) of CAPA criteria for invasive aspergillosis in populations with varying CAPA incidence.ResultsIn a population with CAPA incidence of 10%, anticipated PPV/NPV of diagnostic criteria are ~30%-60%/≥97%; ~3%-5% of tested cohort would be anticipated to have true invasive aspergillosis. If CAPA incidence is 2%-3%, anticipated PPV and NPV are ~8%-30%/>99%.ConclusionsDepending on local epidemiology and clinical details of a given case, PPVs and NPVs may be useful in guiding antifungal therapy. We incorporate this model into a stepwise strategy for diagnosing and managing CAPA.
Project description:Objective: To study the potential effect of COVID-19 on the endometrium of affected symptomatic women. Design: Preliminary study of the endometrial transcriptomes in women with COVID-19 through RNA sequencing. Setting: Hospital and university laboratories. Subjects: Women with COVID-19 lacking SARS-CoV-2 infection in endometrial tissue. Intervention/Exposure: Endometrial biopsy collection. Main outcomes measures: Endometrial gene expression and functional analysis of patients with COVID-19 versus uninfected individuals. Results: COVID-19 systemic disease alters endometrial gene expression in 75% of women, with patients exhibiting a preponderance of 163 up-regulated (e.g., UTS2, IFI6, IFIH1, BNIP3) and 72 down-regulated genes (e.g., CPZ, CDH3, IRF4) (FDR<0.05). A total of 161 dysregulated functions (36 up-regulated and 125 down-regulated) were typically enriched in COVID-19 endometria, including upregulation in pathways involved in response to virus and cytokine inflammation, highlighting upregulation of a COVID-19 response pathway. Conclusion: COVID-19 affects endometrial gene expression despite the absence of SARS-CoV-2 particles in endometrial tissues.
Project description:A smartphone application (Medico-Amico) has been developed by the collaboration of San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Khymeia Group S.R.L. with the aim of providing physical exercises and communicating with patients after their hospitalization in a coronavirus disease (COVID)-rehabilitation unit. Thirty patients used the application for remote rehabilitation for 4 weeks. They were prescribed personalized motor exercises to perform three times a week. Clinicians could interact with each patient by an encrypted video call in order to give encouragement, mental support, modify intensity during training sessions, or to prescribe new exercises. Patients were asked to perform motor exercises and also to monitor their vital signs, such as temperature, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation, inserting scores in a specific section of the application. After 4 weeks of remote rehabilitation patients showed improvements in independence during activity of daily living and strength. Also, satisfaction and mobile application usability scores reached patients' appreciation and enjoyment.
Project description:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major health burden worldwide, with over 450 million confirmed cases and 6 million deaths. Although the acute phase of COVID-19 management has been established, there is still a long way to go to evaluate the long-term clinical course or manage complications due to the relatively short outbreak of the virus. Pulmonary fibrosis is one of the most common respiratory complications associated with COVID-19. Scarring throughout the lungs after viral or bacterial pulmonary infection have been commonly observed, but the prevalence of post- COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis is rapidly increasing. However, there is limited information available about post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis, and there is also a lack of consensus on what condition should be defined as post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis. During a relatively short follow-up period of approximately 1 year, lesions considered related to pulmonary fibrosis often showed gradual improvement; therefore, it is questionable at what time point fibrosis should be evaluated. In this review, we investigated the epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis, and management of post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis.
Project description:ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to determine, in Australian pulmonary rehabilitation programs for people with COPD: (1) whether oxygen saturation (SpO2) was monitored during exercise testing; (2) whether supplemental oxygen was available during exercise testing and/or training; (3) whether oxygen was prescribed during exercise training; and the reason for providing oxygen; (4) whether a protocol was available for supplemental oxygen prescription during exercise training.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional multi-center study using a purposed-designed survey. De-identified survey data were analyzed and the absolute number and percentage of responses were recorded for each question.ResultsThe survey was sent to 261 pulmonary rehabilitation programs and 142 surveys (54%) were available for analysis. Oxygen saturation was monitored during exercise testing in 92% of programs. Supplemental oxygen was available in the majority of programs during exercise testing (82%) and training (84%). The rationale cited by 87 programs (73%) for prescribing oxygen during exercise training was maintaining SpO2 above a threshold ranging from SpO2 80-88%. Forty-five (32%) programs had a protocol for oxygen prescription during exercise training.ConclusionWhile monitoring of SpO2 during exercise testing and using supplemental oxygen during testing and training is common in Australian pulmonary rehabilitation programs, few programs had a protocol in place for the prescription of supplemental oxygen for people with COPD who were not on long-term oxygen therapy. This may be due to lack of strong evidence to support the use of supplemental oxygen during exercise training.
Project description:RationaleA significant reduction in hospitalizations for acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPDs) has been reported during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It remains unclear whether this reduction is the result of health care avoidance by patients, or of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures.ObjectivesOur objective was to explore the impact of COVID-19-related IPC measures on the occurrence of AECOPD in a real-life inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) setting, thereby ruling out potential effects of health care avoidance.MethodsPatients with COPD admitted for 8 weeks of inpatient PR at Ciro (Horn, the Netherlands) between October 2020 and March 2021, the first winter with full COVID-19-related IPC measures,were compared to patients admitted during the same period in previous years (2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020). Electronic medical records were retrospectively screened for the occurrence of moderate to severe AECOPDs, drop-out, and mortality.ResultsA total of 501 patients with COPD (median age 66.6 [interquartile range (IQR) 60.3-71.9] years, 43.1% male, forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1] 35.9 [26.8-50.6] % predicted) were analyzed. During 2020-2021, 22 patients (31.0%) experienced ≥1 AECOPD compared to 43 patients (33.6%) in 2019-2020, 55 patients (36.9%) in 2018-2019, and 83 patients (54.2%) in 2017-2018. This represents a 25.4% reduction in 2020-2021 compared to the average of the previous 3 periods, p=0.077. No differences in AECOPD severity, drop-out, or mortality were observed.ConclusionsCOVID-19-related IPC measures did not significantly reduce the AECOPD rate during inpatient PR in a single-center setting. The current findings suggest that avoidance of health care may be an important factor in the observed reduction of AECOPD-related hospitalizations during the pandemic and that the value of the strict COVID-19-related IPC measures for the prevention of AECOPDs warrants further research.
Project description:The benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) and palliative care (PC) as non-pharmacological therapies for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are increasingly being recognised but in the UK the proportion of people with this life-limiting condition who are referred to such services is thought to be low. This retrospective cohort study aimed to describe trends in referrals to PR and PC services among people with IPF over a 10-year period and to identify factors associated with non-referral. Our study cohort was drawn from the UK's pseudonymised Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) Aurum primary care database and comprised 17,071 individuals diagnosed with IPF between 2010 and 2019. While 12.0% of IPF patients were offered a referral to PR, less than 2% completed a PR programme. Around a fifth (19.4%) received a referral to generic PC support services; however, this is well below reported PC referral rates for lung cancer patients. Moreover, the majority of PC referrals occurred late; among those who died, 31% were referred within a month and 70% within 6 months of death. Referrals to PR and PC had however increased (by around 2-fold and 4-fold, respectively) over the course of the study period. Factors associated with non-referral to PR included female sex, older age and co-diagnosis of dementia; barriers to PC referral included being female or of Asian or Black ethnicity. We also found evidence of regional differences in referrals. These findings confirm that PR and PC service provision for people with IPF across England is suboptimal.