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Biomedical subjects

J T Kaemmerlen

Publications and source records attributed to J T Kaemmerlen.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Asthma in the elderly. A comparison between patients with recently acquired and long-standing disease.

To characterize asthma in the elderly, 25 consecutive nonsmoking pulmonary clinic patients over the age of 70 who met the American Thoracic Society criteria for asthma were identified. Of these, 12 patients (48%) had developed asthma at an advanced age (greater than 65 yr). This group with late-onset asthma had a mean duration of disease of 5.1 +/- 2.5 yr. The remaining group with early-onset asthma had a mean duration of illness of 31.4 +/- 14.6 yr. On the day of evaluation each patient underwent pulmonary function testing off all medication for at least 12 h. These two groups were indistinguishable by symptoms and medication requirements. Immediate hypersensitivity skin testing to 43 aeroallergens was uniformly negative in all 25 patients but the histamine control was always positive. IgE levels in both groups were not different from those in elderly control subjects. Those with early-onset asthma had a greater likelihood of previous allergic disease (p less than 0.001) and a significantly greater degree of airflow obstruction in pre- and postbronchodilator pulmonary function testing (p less than 0.05). This study suggests that long-standing asthma may lead to chronic persistent airflow obstruction and thereby mimic chronic bronchitis and emphysema (COPD).

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Intensive care of status asthmaticus. A 10-year experience.

Previous reports have disclosed a high morbidity and mortality in hospitalized asthmatics, especially those treated in the intensive care unit. Recently, it has been questioned whether the benefits of treating asthmatics in the intensive care unit outweigh the potential hazards. To address this issue, we examined the outcome of status asthmaticus in our medical intensive care unit between January 1, 1978, and December 31, 1987. Eighty episodes of status asthmaticus occurred in 64 patients. In 50 episodes, respiratory failure (PaCO2 greater than 50 mm Hg) was present. In half of these episodes, mechanical ventilation was avoided despite severe acidosis and hypercapnia; in the remainder mechanical ventilation was required as a lifesaving measure. Most patients improved rapidly and required only a short stay in the intensive care unit. There were no deaths and few complications. This was accomplished by close monitoring and repetitive blood gas analysis. We believe that the previous high complication rates and mortality associated with the hospital care of status asthmaticus can be avoided.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Acute effects of phlebotomy on right ventricular size and performance in polycythemic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

To assess the acute effects of phlebotomy on right ventricular size and performance, gated equilibrium radionuclide angiography was used to evaluate 10 patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and erythrocytosis (hematocrit greater than 55%). The mean right ventricular ejection fraction was abnormal before (0.38) but not after (0.43) phlebotomy, and the increase was highly significant (p less than 0.001). Similarly, the right ventricular end-diastolic area decreased significantly from 588 to 505 pixels (p less than 0.02). No significant changes occurred on the left side. Cardiac output was unchanged or slightly increased. Thus, assuming that afterload was unchanged, as reported by other investigators, the data herein are consistent with the hypothesis that a normalization in preload shifts the Starling curve, resulting in improved right ventricular performance with preservation of the cardiac output.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Prediction of tracheobronchial colonization in current cigarette smokers with chronic obstructive bronchitis.

To help in clarifying the conflicting data on the role of tracheobronchial microflora in chronic bronchitis, the tracheobronchial microflora of a homogeneous group of clinically stable patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis was characterized by transtracheal aspiration. Their mean percentage ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 sec to the forced vital capacity was 45%. The results were that (1) a bacterial tracheobronchial microflora was present in only 50% of the patients, (2) viridans streptococci were the bacteria most frequently isolated, and (3) the presence or absence of a tracheobronchial microflora was significantly associated with the amount of present cigarette smoking. The fact that patients who smoke less than one pack per day were most likely to have a sterile tracheobronchial tree (P=0.015) implied that there was a critical amount of cigarette smoke that impaired the clearance and/or detoxification of bacteria from the tracheobronchial tree and that it must have been persistently present.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Sampling lower respiratory tract secretions in primary lung abscess: a comparison of the accuracy of four methods.

To determine the relative cultural accuracy of transtracheal aspiration (TTA), wire-brushing under direct vision through a flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope (WBB), and expectorated sputum (ES) in localized pulmonary infections, we compared each method with percutaneous needle lung aspiration (PLA) cultures in patients with peripheral lung abscesses. Of the 27 organisms that PLA cultures isolated from ten lung abscesses (eight aerobic, two anaerobic), TTA identified 81 percent plus an additional five, and WBB 68 percent plus 16. Of the 14 organisms that PLA cultures isolated from eight aerobic abscesses, TTA identified 93 percent plus an additional two, WBB 83 percent plus 12, and ES 71 percent plus 19. From a laboratory standpoint, we concluded the following: (1) when PLA cultures cannot be obtained, the most accurate method for determining the cause of a localized pulmonary infection is TTA generates false-negative and false-positive information, it may not be an appropriate standard to evaluate other methods, such as ES.

Bacteria↗