Heart rate recovery after the 6-min walk test is related to 6-min walk distance and percutaneous oxygen saturation recovery in patients with COPD.

Heart rate recovery (HRR) after maximal load exercise affects mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the associations of clinical characteristics with HRR after the 6-min walk test (6MWT), which is defined as a submaximal load test, remain unclear. We showed that HRR in patients with COPD after 6MWT was related to 6-min walk distance and percutaneous oxygen saturation recovery. HRR after the 6MWT may be useful to assess exercise capacity in COPD.

Pulmonary rehabilitation improves exercise capacity and dyspnea in air pollution-related respiratory disease.

Air pollution in Japan caused respiratory disease, such as chronic bronchitis and asthma, in many individuals in the 1960s. Although air pollution has decreased, many victims of air pollution-related respiratory disease are limited in their activities of daily living because of respiratory symptoms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation in victims of air pollution-related chronic bronchitis or asthma. Subjects were enrolled in a 12-week (2-week inpatient followed by 10-week outpatient) pulmonary rehabilitation program. The program comprised conditioning, strength training, endurance training, and patient education. We assessed the Modified Medical Research Council (MMRC) dyspnea grade, pulmonary function, peripheral muscle force, incremental shuttle walk distance (ISWD), and physical activity at baseline and immediately after the program. Twenty-nine subjects (mean age 74.2 ± 10.1 years, 11 males) completed the program, including 11 subjects with COPD and 18 subjects with asthma. Following rehabilitation, the participants (n = 29) showed significant improvements in MMRC dyspnea grade, vital capacity % predicted, quadriceps force and ISWD (all P < 0.05). Sub-group analyses revealed that all these variables were significantly improved in subjects with asthma. In contrast, subjects with COPD showed significant improvements only in quadriceps force and ISWD (both P < 0.05). Thus, pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective method of improving exercise capacity and dyspnea in officially acknowledged victims of air pollution-related asthma. In conclusion, we recommend that patients with chronic bronchitis or asthma, resulting from exposure to air pollution, are referred for pulmonary rehabilitation.

Differences in Characteristics Between Physical Frailty Assessments in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

Purpose: Assessment for frailty is important as it enables timely intervention to prevent or delay poor prognosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aims of this study, in a sample of outpatients with COPD, were to (i) assess the prevalence of physical frailty using the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study (J-CHS) criteria and the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and the degree of agreement between the findings of the two assessments and (ii) identify factors associated with the disparity in the results obtained with these instruments. Patients and Methods: This was a multicenter cross-sectional study of individuals with stable COPD enrolled in four institutions. Frailty was assessed using the J-CHS criteria and the SPPB. Weighted Cohen's kappa (k) statistic was performed to investigate the magnitude of agreement between the instruments. We divided participants into two groups depending on whether there was agreement or non-agreement between the results of the two frailty assessments. The two groups were then compared with respect to their clinical data. Results: A total of 103 participants (81 male) were included in the analysis. The median age and FEV1 (%predicted) were 77 years and 62%, respectively. The prevalence of frailty and pre-frail was 21% and 56% with the J-CHS criteria and 10% and 17% with the SPPB. The degree of agreement was fair (k = 0.36 [95% CI: 0.22-0.50], P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the clinical characteristics between the agreement group (n = 44) and the non-agreement group (n = 59). Conclusion: We showed that the degree of agreement was fair with the J-CHS criteria detecting a higher prevalence than the SPPB. Our findings suggest that the J-CHS criteria may be useful in people with COPD with the aim of providing interventions to reverse frailty in the early stages.

Clinical evaluation methods for new antimicrobial agents to treat respiratory infections: Report of the Committee for the Respiratory System, Japan Society of Chemotherapy.

The present report constitutes an attempt to improve and modify the existing clinical evaluation method for new antimicrobial agents to treat respiratory infections. One year ago, a general guideline on the clinical evaluation of antimicrobial agents to treat respiratory infections was drafted in Japanese, leaving scope for critical discussion, and this has been translated into English, as there were no major changes. In this report, respiratory infections have been discussed under the headings "acute respiratory tract infection" and pneumonia and acute exacerbation of chronic pulmonary diseases. Standardized criteria were set for the assessment of severity of infection and effectiveness of the antimicrobial agent in question. Severity was evaluated on the basis of a combined assessment of the severity of infection and severity of the clinical condition of the patients. Clinical effectiveness of the antimicrobial agent used was evaluated on the basis of clinical outcome as well as microbiological outcome of the trial. Body temperature, local pain, cough, change in sputum quality, peripheral white blood cell count, C-reactive protein level, and chest radiograph were used as the parameters for the evaluation. To maintain the quality of specimens to be examined, Geckler's classification of specimens was used. This report was constructed based on the analysis of large amounts of material collected over the years, incorporating internal and external factors concerning the present evaluation methods. The newly suggested standardized criteria for clinical evaluation of the new antimicrobial drugs are expected to be practiced properly hereupon and subjected to further improvement if necessary.

Relationship between depression in patients with COPD and the percent of predicted FEV(1), BODE index, and health-related quality of life.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the prevalence of depression among patients with COPD treated in long-term in-patient rehabilitation facilities, using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D). Furthermore, the relationship between the severity of air-flow obstruction (the percent of predicted FEV(1)), BODE (body mass index, degree of air-flow obstruction, dyspnea, exercise capacity) index, health-related quality of life (St George's Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ]), and depression were investigated. METHODS: We recruited 74 in-patients (64 males, 10 females) with COPD. The mean age of the subjects was 72.7 years (range 52-85 y). Subjects completed the CES-D, and measurements were made of pulmonary function, body mass index, Modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, 6-min walk test (6MWT), and SGRQ. RESULTS: Depression was evident in 48.6% (n = 36) of the subjects. A weak correlation was found between the CES-D scores and the percent of predicted FEV(1). The prevalence of depression showed a significant association with BODE stage. Scores for the SGRQ activity and impacts domains, and total SGRQ score were significantly worse in the subjects who were depressed. CONCLUSIONS: We found a high prevalence of depression among patients with stable COPD treated in long-term in-patient rehabilitation facilities. Depression among these patients, as measured by the CES-D, was associated with greater impairment in respiratory function and with poorer Modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale and SGRQ scores. The prevalence of depression increased with BODE stage.

Single dose of inhaled procaterol has a prolonged effect on exercise performance of patients with COPD.

The aim of this study was to examine the prolonged effect of procaterol, a short-acting bronchodilator, on lung function and exercise performance in patients with moderate to severe COPD. A randomized crossover trial was conducted. We recruited 19 patients with COPD aged 71.6+/-5.5 years. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 20 mug inhaled procaterol followed by no-treatment or no-treatment followed by 20 mug inhaled procaterol separated by a washout period of 3+/-2 days. Lung function and exercise performance, using the incremental shuttle walking test (ISWT), were measured at baseline and 4 hours after receiving each treatment. Baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) was 38.5%+/-17% predicted. There were no significant changes in FEV(1) following inhaled procaterol. However, walking distance increased by 294+/-113 meters at baseline to 331+/-119 meters after inhaled procaterol (p<0.001). These findings support the beneficial effects of inhaled procaterol on exercise performance in the absence of any change in FEV(1) when measured at 4 hours following inhalation in subjects with moderate to severe COPD. The inhaled procaterol may be useful for enhancing the effects of exercise training in patients with COPD.

Significant reduction of nosocomial pneumonia after introduction of disinfection of upper airways using povidone-iodine in geriatric wards.

We investigated the efficacy of disinfection of the upper airway using povidone-iodine against nosocomial pneumonia in geriatric wards. Cases of nosocomial pneumonia were retrospectively analyzed between January 1991 and March 1995 in geriatric wards (190 beds). Moreover, the relationship concerning methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates between patient and environment was investigated using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with the SmaI restriction enzyme. The incidence of nosocomial pneumonia decreased significantly (p < 0.05). Major causative organisms of nosocomial pneumonia were MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which significantly decreased. PFGE studies showed that the patterns of MRSA isolates show a strong association between patient and environment. Our study indicates that disinfection of the upper airways by povidone-iodine is very important in the prevention of nosocomial pneumonia in geriatric wards.