Biomedical subjects

W Vincken

Publications and source records attributed to W Vincken.

112 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Maximal static respiratory pressures in adults: normal values and their relationship to determinants of respiratory function.

Assessment of respiratory muscle strength is done most directly by measuring maximal static inspiratory and expiratory mouth pressures (MIPS and MEPS, respectively). The available studies that report reference values of MIPS and MEPS, however, show ill-explained wide variability, not only between individuals but also between studies. This study of 106 normal white adults (60 women and 46 males, aged 16 to 79 yr) attempts to identify the anthropometric factors which best predict MIPS and MEPS. It was found that: 1) smoking does not affect MIPS and MEPS; 2) sex is a major determinant of MIPS and MEPS, as women reached 68 and 63%, respectively, of the male values; 3) within each sex, age is the major determinant of MIPS and MEPS, since body size factors such as height, weight and percent ideal body weight do not significantly improve the relationship between age and MIPS or MEPS. In both sexes, the pattern of change in pressures with age is different for MIPS and MEPS, suggesting different maturation processes for MIPS and MEPS. While MIPS is an inverse linear function of age (i.e. MIPS decreases with advancing age from early adulthood on), the relationship between MEPS and age is best described by a second degree polynomial (i.e. MEPS increases towards a peak in mid-life, after which it also decreases with age).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Flow oscillations on the flow-volume loop: a nonspecific indicator of upper airway dysfunction.

Flow oscillations on flow-volume loops (a "saw-tooth" pattern) have been reported as a manifestation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but the specificity of this flow-volume loop pattern has not been determined. In a review of 2800 flow-volume loops performed in our pulmonary function laboratory, we identified flow oscillations in 40 patients, an incidence of 1.43%. Thirty-one of these 40 patients (77%) did not have OSA. In 16 of these 31 patients (52%), a structural disorder of the upper airway or neurologic disease involving the upper airway muscles was found. Flow oscillations were associated with physiological upper airway obstruction (UAO) in 14 of these 40 patients (35%), but were the only physiological evidence of upper airway dysfunction in the other 26 patients. Flow oscillations on flow-volume loops thus represent nonspecifically instability of the upper airway, caused by a variety of disorders, including OSA. Detection of this peculiar flow-volume loop configuration should lead to investigation of the upper airway and the surrounding musculature as it might be an early indicator of ongoing disorders eventually leading to UAO.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Immunogold-silver staining of cells recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage. A report of three cases demonstrating its value in the diagnosis of pulmonary involvement in hematologic malignancies.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of pulmonary involvement in hematologic malignancies (PHM) has traditionally necessitated large specimens (usually invasive or surgically obtained biopsies). The development of reliable immunocytologic identification techniques allows diagnosis on noninvasively obtained cellular material, including bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Since 1985, 12 such cases have been reported. CASES: Three cases of B-cell-related PHM were diagnosed by means of BAL fluid cellular analysis using the immunogold-silver staining technique. CONCLUSION: This is the first report showing immunogold-silver staining to be a reliable immunocytochemical identification technique for monoclonal B-cell populations recovered by BAL.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Antiallergic and antitussive medications: extent of use and relationship to asthma exacerbations.

BACKGROUND: Asthma patients are frequently exposed to antiallergic and antitussive medications, in addition to their respiratory treatment. These medications interfere with inflammatory pathways common to all atopic diseases and could affect asthma. OBJECTIVES: To investigate associations between antiallergic and antitussive medications and the occurrence of asthma exacerbations and to assess the extent of use of these medications in asthma. METHODS: Regular users of anti-asthma medications were identified in a drug dispensing database. A base-cohort of asthma patients was identified using age and exposure criteria. A nested case-control study was performed within the base-cohort: the outcome was defined as a new dispensing of oral corticosteroids and matched cases and controls were compared regarding exposure to antiallergic medications. Odds ratios (OR) were computed by conditional logistic regression and adjustment incorporated markers for asthma severity. RESULTS: 680 asthma patients were followed in the base-cohort for an average duration of 1390 days. Antitussives, antihistamines and nasal corticosteroids were used by respectively 40, 30 and 13 per cent of the asthma population. Among the patients, 134 cases were pair matched with controls. In these pairs, antitussives showed a significant association with asthma exacerbations, with an OR of 3.1. The association had borderline significance for antihistamines and was not significant for nasal corticosteroids. The results were not modified by adjustment for disease severity. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that antitussives and antihistamines are commonly used by asthmatics and indicates that both classes are associated with increased occurrence of asthma exacerbations; assessing causality from present data is, however, difficult. Nasal corticosteroids are used less often and are not associated with the outcome. Antihistamine and antitussive medications should be more thoroughly investigated in asthma patients.

Administration, Intranasal↗