BACKGROUND Since heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with average heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RespRate), alterations in these parameters may impose changes in HRV. Hence the repeatability of HRV measurements may be affected by differences in HR and RespRate. The study aimed to evaluate HRV repeatability and its association with changes in HR and RespRate. METHODS Forty health...

Respiratory rate is a sensitive clinical parameter in a multitude of pulmonary diseases, especially in the critical care setting. In order to validate the routine recording of the respiratory rate in the intensive care unit, we compared the values obtained from the nursing records with the breathing frequency continuously recorded by a prototype microprocessor system using respiratory inductive...

Indirect estimation methodologies of the total fertility rate (TFR) have a long history within demography and have provided important techniques applied demographers can use when data is sparse or lacking. However new methodologies for approximating the total fertility rate have not been proposed in nearly 30 years. This study presents a novel method for indirectly approximating the total ferti...

BACKGROUND In recent years, the optimal location for noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) has been a matter of debate. Our aim was to detect the effectiveness of NIMV in acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) in respiratory ward and factors associated with failure. METHODS 69 patients treated with NIMV in respiratory ward were prospectively evaluated. The success of NIMV was define...

BACKGROUND The assessment of the work of breathing in the definitions of respiratory failure is vague and variable. OBJECTIVE Identify a parsimonious set of signs to describe the work of breathing in hypoxemic, acutely ill patients. METHODS We examined consecutive medical ICU patients receiving oxygen with a mask, non-invasive ventilation, or T-piece. A physician inspected each patient for ...

There are considerable differences in the number of organ donations between countries. It is assumed that opting-out systems have a significantly positive impact on the national organ donation rate. The aim of our study was to establish whether different consent systems explain the difference in organ donation rates between countries when taking into account the difference in relevant mortality...

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) with central nerve system complications may rapidly progress to fulminated cardiorespiratory failure, with higher mortality and worse prognosis. It has been reported that circadian rhythms of heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate are useful in predicting prognosis of severe cardiovascular and neurological diseases. The present study aims to investigate the ch...

Both human and animal studies have demonstrated that respiratory parameters change in response to presentation of alerting stimuli, as well as during stress, yet central neuronal pathways that mediate such responses remain unknown. The aim of our study was to investigate the involvement of the amygdala in mediating respiratory responses to stressors of various intensities and duration. Adult ma...