Higher exacerbation incidence rates in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with more rapid decline in lung function and poorer quality of life, yet the mechanisms determining susceptibility to exacerbation remain ill-defined. The same viruses responsible for common colds are frequently isolated during exacerbations. The current authors hypothesised that exacerbation freq...

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence in Canada has risen over time. COPD-related exacerbations contribute to the increased health care utilization (HCU) in this population. This study investigated the impact of exacerbations on COPD-related HCU. METHODS This retrospective observational cohort study used patient data from the Québec provincial health insurance dat...

BACKGROUND Seasonal variations in the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been reported. However, the influence of air temperature and other meteorological factors on COPD exacerbation remains unclear. METHODS National Health Insurance registry data from January 1, 1999 to December 1, 2009 and meteorological variables from the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau ...

Results OPN levels (ng/ml) were significantly higher in asthmatics in exacerbation period when compared to nonexacerbation period, and controls [30,61±3,21 vs. 28,7 ±3,71 vs. 27,62±3,91, respectively; p<.001]. There was no significant difference among OPN levels between asthmatics and controls, (p=.094). 25(OH)D levels (ng/ml) were significantly lower in asthmatics in exacerbation period when c...

RATIONALE The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Assessment Test (CAT) is an eight-item questionnaire designed to assess and quantify the impact of COPD symptoms on health status. COPD exacerbations impair quality of life and are characterized by worsening respiratory symptoms from the stable state. We hypothesized that CAT scores at exacerbation relate to exacerbation severity as mea...

BACKGROUND Previous research has found relationships between specific indoor environmental exposures and exacerbation of asthma. OBJECTIVES In this review we provide an updated summary of knowledge from the scientific literature on indoor exposures and exacerbation of asthma. METHODS Peer-reviewed articles published from 2000 to 2013 on indoor exposures and exacerbation of asthma were ident...

The aim of our study was to discover the health status and healthcare utilisation associated with pulmonary exacerbations in cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Patients with CF from five UK CF centres attended two visits, 8-12 weeks apart. They were classified at visit 1 as being in one of the three health states: no current pulmonary exacerbation; "mild" (no hos...

We have previously demonstrated that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who do not have Siglec-14 are less prone to exacerbation of the disease. Siglec-14 is a myeloid cell protein that recognizes bacteria and triggers inflammatory responses. Therefore, soluble mediators secreted by myeloid cells responding to Siglec-14 engagement could be involved in the pathogenesis of exac...