Objective To investigate the clinical significance of lateral position ventilation in the treatment of invasive ventilation in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods From October 2014 to December 2016, 60 eligible patients with AECOPD who meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=30) or a control group (n=30). Expectorant, antiasthmatic, anti-infective, invasive ventilation, bronchoscopy, analgesic sedation, invasive-noninvasive sequential ventilation, nutritional support, intensive care and other treatment were conducted in two groups, but lateral position ventilation was subsequently performed in the intervention group and the control group used half lateral position. Outcome measurements included pH, PaO2/FiO2, arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (R) and air way resistance (Raw) before and one day after invasive ventilation, and duration of control of pulmonary infection (PIC), invasive mechanic ventilation (IMV), mechanic ventilation (MV) and intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Results Compared with before ventilation, the levels of PaO2/FiO2, PaCO2, HR, R and Raw were significantly changed in two groups after ventilation (P<0.05). One day later after ventilation, pH [interventionvs. control: (7.43±0.07) vs. (7.37±0.11)], PaO2/FiO2[(253.52±65.33) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) vs. (215.46±58.72) mm Hg] and PaCO2 [(52.45±7.15) mm Hg vs. (59.39±8.44) mm Hg] were statistically significant (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found in HR, R or Raw between two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, PIC [(3.7±1.4) daysvs. (5.3±2.2) days], IMV [(4.0±1.5) days vs. (6.1±3.0) days], MV [(4.7±2.0) days vs. (7.3±3.7) days] and ICU stay [(6.2±2.1) days vs. (8.5±4.2) days] were significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the intervention group. Conclusions In AECOPD patients, invasive ventilation using lateral position ventilation can significantly improve arterial blood gas index, decrease Raw, shorten the time of PIC, IMV, MV and ICU stay.
ObjectiveTo assess the mortality, acute exacerbations, exercise capacity, symptoms and significant physiological parameters (lung function, respiratory muscle function and gas exchange) of patients with severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with respiratory failure treated by noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV).MethodsA meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was carried out by searching PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, OVID, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and the bibliographies of the retrieved articles up to February 2017. Studies of patients with severe stable COPD with respiratory failure receiving long-term noninvasive positive pressure ventilation and comparison with oxygen therapy were conducted, and at least one of the following parameters were reviewed: frequency of acute exacerbations, mortality, lung function, respiratory muscle function, gas exchange, 6-minute walk test.ResultsSix studies with 695 subjects met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The PaCO2 was significantly decreased in patients who received long-term NPPV. No significant difference was found between long-term NPPV and oxygen therapy in mortality, frequency of acute exacerbations, gas exchange, lung function, respiratory muscle function and exercise capacity. The subgroup analysis showed that NPPV improves survival of patients when it is targeted at greatly reducing hypercapnia.ConclusionCurrent evidence suggests that there is no significant improvement by application of NPPV on severe stable COPD with respiratory failure patients, but NPPV may reduce patients’ mortality with the aim of reducing hypercapnia.
ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of induced sputum microbiome in the patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).MethodsInduced sputum samples from 55 patients with AECOPD and 45 patients with stable COPD were analyzed by sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. Microbiota was measured by alpha diversity, beta diversity and LDA effect size analysis (LefSe).ResultsThe microbiome diversity of induced sputum in the AECOPD group was lower than that in the stable COPD group. The microbiome richness in the AECOPD group was higher than that in the stable COPD group. The microbiome structure changed in the AECOPD group compared with the stable COPD group. The proportion of some common pathogens got enriched. The levels of hypersensitive C reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and Global Initative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) grade were negatively related to the diversity of microbiome in the AECOPD group.ConclusionsThe microbiome diversity of induced sputum in AECOPD patients is decreased, and is negatively correlated with the levels of hs-CRP, IL-8, TNF-α and GOLD grade. There are differences in the microbiome structure between AECOPD and stable COPD patients. Some enrichment of common pathogens are found in the induced sputum of patients with AECOPD. These results suggest that there is a significant bacterial dysbiosis in patients with AECOPD.
ObjectiveTo investigate the role of Aspergillus in the severe refractory exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).MethodsThe clinical data of two COPD patients suffering from refractory acute exacerbations were analyzed and the relevant literature were reviewed.ResultsTwo patients were male, aging 72 and 64 years respectively. Both of them had a history of frequent acute exacerbations with severe COPD recently. Meanwhile, they received intravenous use of antibiotics repeatedly, one of them took oral corticosteroids to control wheezing, but failed. Their serum Aspergillus-specific IgG antibody was weakly positive. Besides traditional treatment, they received additional antifungal therapy, and the symptoms alleviated. There was no acute exacerbation in the half a year follow-up period after appropriate therapy.ConclusionsAspergillus colonization, sensitization, infection should be considered in patients with severe COPD. When Aspergillus-associated evidence are acquired, antifungal therapy will be unexpected helpful.
Objective To analyze the difference of sputum flora between acute exacerbation and stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients basing on metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS), and its relationship with clinical indicators. The role of sputum flora of COPD patients in unexplained deterioration was explored, so as to find a targeted treatment plan. Methods From December 2021 to June 2022, 54 COPD patients who had a history of smoking were recruited, including 25 patients in stable COPD (SCOPD group) and 29 patients in acute exacerbation (AECOPD group). The sputum was collected and sequenced by mNGS, and the difference of sputum flora between the two groups was compared. Results Compared with SCOPD group, the evenness of sputum flora (Shannon index) in AECOPD group decreased significantly (P=0.019, Mann-Whitney U test). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Fusobacteria in AECOPD group was significantly lower than that in SCOPD group (Z=–2.669, P=0.008). At genus level, compared with SCOPD group, the relative abundance of Fusobacterium and Haemophilus in AECOPD group decreased significantly (Z=–3.062, P=0.002; Z=–2.143, P=0.032), and the relative abundance of Granulicatella increased significantly (Z=–2.186, P=0.029). At species level, the relative abundance of sputum Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae in AECOPD group was significantly lower than that in SCOPD group (Z=–2.230, P=0.026; Z=–2.125, P=0.034; Z=–2.099, P=0.036). At the time of acute exacerbation of COPD, the relative abundance of Gemella in sputum was positively correlated with forced expiratory volume in first second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) and body mass index (r=0.476, P=0.009; r=0.427, P=0.021), which was negatively correlated with nutrition risk screening 2002 (r=–0.570, P=0.001). The relative abundance of Neisseria and Neisseria subflava was negatively correlated with GOLD grade (r=–0.428, P=0.020; r=–0.455, P=0.013). The relative abundance of Rothia aeria was posotively correlated with C-reactive peotein (r=0.388, P=0.038). Conclusions There are significant differences of sputum flora in phylum, genus and species level between stable and acute exacerbation COPD patients. The evenness of sputum flora in COPD patients in acute exacerbation is significantly lower than that in patients in stable stage. Fusobacteria, Fusobacterium, Gemella and Nesseria (Neisseria subflava) may play a beneficial role in COPD, while Rothia aeria may be associated with COPD exacerbation.