Fever is sometimes associated with asthmatic reactions following specific inhalation challenges with occupational agents. Our aims were to estimate the prevalence of fever in subjects with occupational asthma confirmed by specific inhalation challenge and to examine the characteristics and clinical correlates of subjects who develop fever on specific inhalation challenge. We performed a retrosp...

To define the role of neutrophil elastase (NE) in the progression of acute lung injury (ALI), we examined the effects of post-treatment with a specific NE inhibitor, sivelestat sodium hydrate (sivelestat), on ALI induced by endotoxin (ET) inhalation in hamsters. Inhalation of ET (300 microg/ml, 30 min) in conscious hamsters increased inflammatory cell count, protein concentration, and hemorrhag...

The airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are characterised by neutrophils that release high amounts of elastase overwhelming the local antiprotease shield. Inhalation of alpha(1)-antitrypsin (AAT) may restore the protease-antiprotease balance and attenuate airway inflammation in CF airways. The aims of the present study were: 1) to assess the best deposition region for inhaled AAT by two di...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can lead to respiratory failure, but current pharmacological treatments focus on symptom relief or slowing disease progression. Here, the effectiveness of an alternative therapy combining deep-breathing exercises and oxygen inhalation therapy was assessed in mild-to-moderate COPD patients. Forty-two male mild-to-moderate COPD patients were randomly d...

Advances in the care of patients with major burns have led to a reduction in mortality and a change in the cause of their death. Burn shock, which accounted for almost 20 percent of burn deaths in the 1930s and 1940s, is now treated with early, vigorous fluid resuscitation and is only rarely a cause of death. Burn wound sepsis, which emerged as the primary cause of mortality once burn shock dec...

To study whether circadian variation of bronchial caliber participates in causing late asthmatic response (LAR), house-dust inhalation was made at 10 AM and 6 PM on separate days in 6 house-dust-sensitive asthmatic children aged 8 to 13 years. Bronchial obstruction was assessed through measurements of FEV1 at 4-h intervals from 24 h before to 24 h after the inhalation. The LAR, which is a 15 pe...

Inhalation injury remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality in children with burn injury. The purpose of this study is to analyze the incidence, demographic characteristics, and outcomes for children who have sustained burn injury at one of four regional pediatric burn centers. A retrospective review of children aged 0 to 18 years admitted to one of four pediatric burn centers fro...

BACKGROUND Colonisation of cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is facilitated by two lectins, which bind to the sugar coat of the surface lining epithelia and stop the cilia beating. OBJECTIVES We hypothesized that P. aeruginosa lung infection should be cleared by inhalation of fucose and galactose, which compete for the sugar binding site of the two lectins and thus inhibi...

Inhaled anticholinergics may be the first-line therapy for stable COPD. However, the effect of inhaled anticholinergic agents on exercise capacity is still controversial. Fourteen patients with stable COPD (age, 64.6 +/- 5.9 years) completed a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial. All the patients were studied by symptom-limited progressive cycle ergometry before and 90 m...