OBJECTIVE Prior studies describe airway management by single EMS agencies, regions or states. We sought to characterize out-of-hospital airway management interventions, outcomes and complications across the United States. METHODS Using the 2008 National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) Public-Release Data Set containing data from 16 states, we identified patients receivi...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by incompletely reversible airflow obstruction. Direct measurement of airways resistance using invasive techniques has revealed that the site of obstruction is located in the small conducting airways, ie, bronchioles with a diameter < 2 mm. Anatomical changes in these airways include structural abnormalities of the conducting airways...

The small airways of the lungs are commonly affected in pediatric and adult asthma. Small airways disease has been related to asthma control, severity, and risk of exacerbation. Diagnosis of small airways disease can be best made through evaluation of surgical lung specimens. Noninvasive techniques including spirometry, plethysmography, nitrogen washout, impulse oscillometry, and cross-sectiona...

Airway compliance is a key factor in understanding lung mechanics and is used as a clinical diagnostic index. Understanding such mechanics in small airways physiologically and clinically is critical. We have determined the "morphometric change" and "localized compliance" of small airways under "near"-physiological conditions; namely, the airways were embedded in parenchyma without dehydration a...

OBJECTIVE We hypothesised that the airway resistance during tidal breathing would correlate with a particular pattern of increasing obesity, particularly when supine, and would differ between participants with and without ventilatory failure. METHODS In our cross-sectional cohort study, 72 morbidly obese patients (40 males, 32 females, mean body mass index (BMI) 47.2) had measurements of both...