• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제79권3호
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• pp.121-126
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• 2016

Lung function reportedly declines with age and that this decline is accelerated during disease progression. However, a recent study showed that the decline might peak in the mild and moderate stage. The prognosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be improved if the disease is diagnosed in its early stages, prior to the peak of decline in lung function. This article reviews recent studies on early COPD and the possibility of applying the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation 2008 and 2015 for early detection of COPD in Korea.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제86권2호
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• pp.71-81
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• 2023

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects close to 400 million people worldwide. COPD is characterized by significant airflow limitation on spirometry. Most patients with COPD are diagnosed in their fifth or sixth decades of life. However, the disease begins much earlier. By the time airflow limitation is detected on spirometry, patients with COPD have lost close to 50% of their small airways. Thus, identification of patients with early COPD, defined as persons with preserved spirometry, who demonstrate pathologic or functional hallmarks of COPD, is essential for disease modification and ultimately disease elimination. This paper provides an up-to-date overview of the current case definition of early COPD, its importance, the novel technologies required for its detection in young adults and future directions in therapeutics for treatment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제80권4호
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• pp.317-324
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• 2017

Small airway disease (SAD) has been recognized for many years as a central feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Histopathology studies have shown that the narrowing and destruction of small airways in COPD combined with inflammatory cell infiltration in the submucosa increases the severity of the disease. SAD is present in the early stages of COPD and becomes more widespread over time as the disease progresses to more severe COPD. The development of inhalers containing extra-fine particles allows the small airways to be pharmacologically targeted. Recent clinical trials have shown the efficacy of extra-fine triple therapy that targets the small airways in patients with COPD. This article reviews the importance and treatment of SAD in COPD.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제85권2호
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• pp.122-136
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• 2022

Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) have distinct clinical features, both diseases may coexist in a patient because they share similar risk factors such as smoking, male sex, and old age. Patients with both emphysema in upper lung fields and diffuse ILD are diagnosed with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE), which causes substantial clinical deterioration. Patients with CPFE have higher mortality compared with patients who have COPD alone, but results have been inconclusive compared with patients who have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Poor prognostic factors for CPFE include exacerbation, lung cancer, and pulmonary hypertension. The presence of interstitial lung abnormalities, which may be an early or mild form of ILD, is notable among patients with COPD, and is associated with poor prognosis. Various theories have been proposed regarding the pathophysiology of CPFE. Biomarker analyses have implied that this pathophysiology may be more closely associated with IPF development, rather than COPD or emphysema. Patients with CPFE should be advised to quit smoking and undergo routine lung function tests, and pulmonary rehabilitation may be helpful. Various pharmacologic agents and surgical approaches may be beneficial in patients with CPFE, but further studies are needed.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.50-57
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• 2008

Pulmonary hypertension is an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein or pulmonary capillaries. Depending on the cause, pulmonary hypertension can be a severe disease with markedly decreased exercise tolerance and right-sided heart failure. Pulmonary hypertension can present as one of five different types: arterial, venous, hypoxic, thromboembolic, or miscellaneous. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with severe pulmonary hypertension is a rare disease. A 52-year-old man presented with a complaint of aggravating dyspnea. The mean pulmonary arterial pressure was 61.5 mmHg by Doppler echocardiogram. The patient was prescribed diuretics, digoxin, bronchodilator, sildenafil, bosentan and an oxygen supply. However, he ultimately died of cor pulmonale. Thus, diagnosis and early combination therapy are important.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제81권2호
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• pp.99-105
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• 2018

Acute exacerbation(s) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) tend to be critical and debilitating events leading to poorer outcomes in relation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment modalities, and contribute to a higher and earlier mortality rate in COPD patients. Besides pro-active preventative measures intended to obviate acquisition of AECOPD, early recovery from severe AECOPD is an important issue in determining the long-term prognosis of patients diagnosed with COPD. Updated GOLD guidelines and recently published American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society clinical recommendations emphasize the importance of use of pharmacologic treatment including bronchodilators, systemic steroids and/or antibiotics. As a non-pharmacologic strategy to combat the effects of AECOPD, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is recommended as the treatment of choice as this therapy is thought to be most effective in reducing intubation risk in patients diagnosed with AECOPD with acute respiratory failure. Recently, a few adjunctive modalities, including NIV with helmet and helium-oxygen mixture, have been tried in cases of AECOPD with respiratory failure. As yet, insufficient documentation exists to permit recommendation of this therapy without qualification. Although there are too few findings, as yet, to allow for regular andr routine application of those modalities in AECOPD, there is anecdotal evidence to indicate both mechanical and physiological benefits connected with this therapy. High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy is another supportive strategy which serves to improve the symptoms of hypoxic respiratory failure. The therapy also produced improvement in ventilatory variables, and it may be successfully applied in cases of hypercapnic respiratory failure. Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal has been successfully attempted in cases of adult respiratory distress syndrome, with protective hypercapnic ventilatory strategy. Nowadays, it is reported that it was also effective in reducing intubation in AECOPD with hypercapnic respiratory failure. Despite the apparent need for more supporting evidence, efforts to improve efficacy of NIV have continued unabated. It is anticipated that these efforts will, over time, serve toprogressively decrease the risk of intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation in cases of AECOPD with acute respiratory failure.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.298-305
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• 2016

Background: This study is to investigate the prescription patterns and factors related to the number of medications treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients under 65 years old according to GOLD guidelines. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients aged 40-64 years with a diagnosis of COPD from January to March 2016. Patients were classified by combined assessment of COPD (grades A, B, C, D) using spirometry, exacerbation history, mMRC, and/or CAT results. We analyzed prescribed medications, treatment options and factors related to the numbers of COPD medications. Results: The total number of prescriptions were 251. About 35.5% of patients were classified as GOLD A, 34.2% as GOLD B, 17.1% as GOLD C and 13.2% as GOLD D. Inhaled bronchodilator was prescribed for 86.9% of patients and the most frequent COPD medication was long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) followed by inhaled corticosteroids/long acting beta agonist (ICS/LABA). The majority of low risk patients (GOLD A/B) were prescribed a monotherapy with LAMA or LABA. For high risk patients (GOLD C/D), combination treatment with ICS+LAMA+LABA was mostly prescribed. The 21.2% of patients in GOLD D received systemic corticosteroid. The average number of medications per prescription was 3.7, and this number increased with increasing COPD grade, COPD duration and lung function reduction ($FEV_1$, $FEV_1/FVC$). Conclusion: Generally high adherence to GOLD guideline recommendations was reported. Given the progressive nature of the disease, results suggest that closer attention to respiratory symptoms for early detection, diagnosis, and appropriate treatment of COPD is warranted.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제70권4호
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• pp.293-300
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• 2011

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a substantially under-diagnosed disorder, and the diagnosis is usually delayed until the disease is advanced. However, the benefit of early diagnosis is not yet clear, and there are no guidelines in Korea for doing early diagnosis. This review highlights several issues regarding early diagnosis of COPD. On the basis of several lines of evidence, early diagnosis seems quite necessary and beneficial to patients. Early diagnosis can be approached by several methods, but it should be confirmed by quality-controlled spirometry. Compared with its potential benefit, the adverse effects of spirometry or pharmacotherapy appear relatively small. Although it is difficult to evaluate the benefit of early diagnosis by well-designed trials, several lines of evidence suggest that we should try to diagnose and manage patients with COPD at early stages of the disease.

• 대한핵의학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.229-236
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• 1990

Perfusion and ventilaion imagings of the lung are well established procedure for diagnosing pulmonary embolism, differentiation it from chronic obstructive lung disease, and making an early detection of chronic obstructive lung disease. To evaluate the usefulness of radioaerosol inhalation imaging (RII) in chronic obstructive lung disease, especially pulmonary emphysema, we analyzed RIIs of five normal adult non-smokers, five asymptomatic smokers (age 25-42 years with the mean 36), and 21 patients with pulmonry emphysema (age 59-78 years with the mean 67). Scintigrams were obtained with radioaerosol produced by a BARC nebulizer with 15 mCi of Tc-99m-phytate. Scanning was performed in the anterior, posterior, and lateral projections after five to 10-minute inhalation of the radioaerosol on sitting position. The scans were analyzed and correlated with the results of pulmonary function studies and chest radiographs. Also lung perfusion scan with $^{99m}Tc-MAA$ was performed in 12 patients. In five patients, we performed follow-up scans for the evaluation of the effects of a bronchodilator. Based on the X-ray findings and clinical symptoms, pulmonary emphysema was classified into four types: centrilobular (3 patients), panlobular (4 patients), intermediate (10 patients), and combined (4 patients). RII findings were patternized according to the type, extent, and intensity of the aerosol deposition in the central bronchial and bronchopulmonary system and lung parenchyma. 10 controls, normal five non-smokers and three asymptomatic smokers revealed homogeneous parenchymal deposition in the entire lung fields without central bronchial deposition. The remaining two of asymptomatic smokers revealed mild central airway deposition. The great majority of the patients showed either central (9/21) or combined type (10/21) of bronchopulmonary deposition and the remaining two patients peripheral bronchopulmonary deposition. Parenchymal aerosol deposition in pulmonary emphysema was diffuse (6/21), discrete(6/21), intermediate (3/21), or combined (6/21). In 12 patients studied also with perfusion scans, perfusion defects matched closely with ventilation defects in location and configuration. But the size of the ventilation defects was generally larger than the perfusion defects. In all four patients treated with bronchodilators, the follow-up study demonstrated decrease in abnormal of radioaerosol deposition in the central airway with improvement of ventilation defects. RII was useful technique for the evaluation of regional ventilatory abnormality and the effects of treatment with bronchodilators in pulmonary emphysema.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제83권2호
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• pp.116-121
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• 2020

Particulate matter (PM) is suspended dust that has a diameter of <10 ㎛ and can be inhaled by humans and deposited in the lungs, particularly the alveoli. Recent studies have shown that PM has an adverse effect on respiratory diseases. The aim of this article is to review respiratory diseases associated with PM. According to existing studies, PM is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, and several other respiratory diseases and increases the mortality rates of these diseases. Moreover, increased exposure in the high concentration of atmospheric PM is associated with the development of lung cancer. The most simple and common way to protect an individual from airborne PM is to wear a face mask that filters out PM. In areas of high concentration PM, it is recommended to wear a face mask to minimize the exposure to PM. However, the use of N95 or KF94 masks can interfere with respiration in patients with chronic respiratory diseases who exhibit low pulmonary function, leading to an increased risk of respiratory failure. Conclusionally, reduction of the total amount of PM is considered to be important factor and strengthening the national warning notification system to vulnerable patients and proper early management of exacerbated patients will be needed in the future.