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Biomedical subjects

Jean Bourbeau

Publications and source records attributed to Jean Bourbeau.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Reduction of hospital utilization in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a disease-specific self-management intervention.

BACKGROUND: Self-management interventions improve various outcomes for many chronic diseases. The definite place of self-management in the care of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been established. We evaluated the effect of a continuum of self-management, specific to COPD, on the use of hospital services and health status among patients with moderate to severe disease. METHODS: A multicenter, randomized clinical trial was carried out in 7 hospitals from February 1998 to July 1999. All patients had advanced COPD with at least 1 hospitalization for exacerbation in the previous year. Patients were assigned to a self-management program or to usual care. The intervention consisted of a comprehensive patient education program administered through weekly visits by trained health professionals over a 2-month period with monthly telephone follow-up. Over 12 months, data were collected regarding the primary outcome and number of hospitalizations; secondary outcomes included emergency visits and patient health status. RESULTS: Hospital admissions for exacerbation of COPD were reduced by 39.8% in the intervention group compared with the usual care group (P =.01), and admissions for other health problems were reduced by 57.1% (P =.01). Emergency department visits were reduced by 41.0% (P =.02) and unscheduled physician visits by 58.9% (P =.003). Greater improvements in the impact subscale and total quality-of-life scores were observed in the intervention group at 4 months, although some of the benefits were maintained only for the impact score at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: A continuum of self-management for COPD patients provided by a trained health professional can significantly reduce the utilization of health care services and improve health status. This approach of care can be implemented within normal practice.

Aged↗

Respiratory infection: how important is oral health?

The oral cavity has long been considered a potential reservoir for respiratory pathogens. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in the relation between oral flora and respiratory infection among "at-risk" patients such as patients from intensive care units or frail older adults. The mechanisms of infection could be colonization of the oral biofilm by respiratory pathogens followed by aspiration. More recent hypotheses relate to the presence in saliva of enzymes and cytokines associated with oral pathogens, and that could modulate the colonization of the respiratory tract or promote infection by respiratory pathogens. It is the aim of this paper to review the recent literature on this topic.

Canada↗

Comparison of nebulized budesonide and oral prednisolone with placebo in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized controlled trial.

Nebulized budesonide has been used successfully to treat acute asthma exacerbation, and we hypothesized that it could also be effective for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, the efficacy of nebulized budesonide (Pulmicort Respules/Nebuamp), oral prednisolone, and placebo was compared in 199 patients with acute exacerbations of COPD requiring hospitalization. Patients received from randomization (H(0)) to 72 h (H(72)), 2 mg of budesonide every 6 h (n = 71), 30 mg of oral prednisolone every 12 h (n = 62), or placebo (n = 66). All received standard treatment, including nebulized beta(2)-agonists, ipratropium bromide, oral antibiotics, and supplemental oxygen. The mean change (95% confidence interval) in postbronchodilator FEV(1) from H(0) to H(72) was greater with active treatments than with placebo: budesonide versus placebo, 0.10 L (0.02 to 0.18 L); prednisolone versus placebo, 0.16 L (0.08 to 0.24 L). The difference in FEV(1) between budesonide and prednisolone was not significant, -0.06 L (-0.14 to 0.02 L). The occurrence of serious adverse events was similar for all groups. Budesonide had less systemic activity than prednisolone as indicated by a higher incidence of hyperglycemia observed with prednisolone. Both budesonide and prednisolone improved airflow in COPD patients with acute exacerbations when compared with placebo. Nebulized budesonide may be an alternative to oral prednisolone in the treatment of nonacidotic exacerbations of COPD but further studies should be done to evaluate its long-term impact on clinical outcomes after an initial episode of COPD exacerbation.

Acute Disease↗

Isokinetic muscle function in COPD.

AIM: Exercise limitation in patients with COPD has been attributed to impaired ventilation and reduced skeletal muscle function. We have previously used a combination of FEV(1) and leg muscle function (work achieved during a 30-s isokinetic sprint test) to predict progressive exercise capacity. However, the 30-s test may not be well tolerated in patients with advanced lung disease. We studied the relationship between progressive exercise capacity, FEV(1), and isokinetic work in patients with COPD and in healthy control subjects to assess whether the work accomplished at time intervals of < 30 s could also be used to predict progressive maximal exercise capacity (Wmax). METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with COPD and 29 control subjects underwent anthropometric measures, spirometry, progressive cycle ergometry, and 30-s isokinetic cycling. RESULTS: There was no significant difference for weight, height, or body mass index between the groups. The COPD group was slightly older and had a significantly lower FEV(1) than control subjects. They also had a lower Wmax (56 +/- 28.3 W vs 141.9 +/- 46.7 W) and isokinetic work accomplished over 10 s (W10), over 15 s (W15), over 20 s (W20), over 25 s (W25), and over 30 s (W30). Wmax correlated in both patients with COPD and in control subjects with W10, W15, W20, W25, W30, and FEV(1). Combining FEV(1) and isokinetic work (W10, W15, W20, W25, or W30) in a two-factor model to predict Wmax, the coefficients of determination (r(2)) for patients with COPD were 0.57, 0.57, 0.58, 0.59, and 0.58, and for control subjects were 0.69, 0.69, 0.71, 0.71, and 0.73, respectively. Wmax correlated with weight only in control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Both ventilatory function and leg muscle function contribute to exercise limitation, and a 20-s isokinetic test can be utilized to assess leg function in patients with COPD.

Aged↗

Teaching time for metered-dose inhalers in the emergency setting.

OBJECTIVES: In some acute-care settings, practitioners are reluctant to institute bronchodilator therapy with metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) as standard management. Such therapy requires that personnel ensure optimal use of these devices. We prospectively evaluated the time required to teach patients correct inhaler use for the emergency treatment of asthma and COPD, and patient factors associated with duration of teaching. DESIGN: MDI arm within a single-center randomized clinical trial comparing bronchodilator administration by MDI with a delivery enhancement device (MDI/DED) vs delivery by wet nebulizer. SETTING: All subjects were treated for asthma or COPD exacerbations at the respiratory acute-care day hospital of the Montreal Chest Institute, immediately after presentation to our emergency department. Inhaler-use education was provided according to a predetermined protocol. MEASUREMENTS: Subjects' baseline characteristics were obtained from medical charts, spirometry, and questionnaires; satisfaction was evaluated by questionnaire. All inhaler-use education was observed and timed. RESULTS: Sixty-one patients with asthma (median age, 46 years) and 32 patients with COPD (median age, 68.5 years) were randomized to treatment by MDI/DED. Mean FEV1 (percent predicted) was 63.5% for patients with asthma and 39.5% for patients with COPD. Five patients could not complete MDI teaching and therefore received subsequent treatment by wet nebulization. For the 88 other patients, the median teaching time was 6.5 min. Shorter teaching-time requirements were independently associated with higher initial arterial oxygen saturation, home DED use after previous MDI instruction, and a single initial bronchodilator treatment by wet nebulization. Most subjects expressed satisfaction with MDI/DED teaching and treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Successful MDI/DED teaching followed by self-medication is feasible in the emergency setting, based on a simple protocol. A single bronchodilator dose administered by wet nebulization may facilitate subsequent MDI teaching.

Acute Disease↗

Canadian Thoracic Society recommendations for management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease--2003.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common cause of disability and death in Canada. Moreover, morbidity and mortality from COPD continue to rise, and the economic burden is enormous. The main goal of the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) Evidence-Based Guidelines is to optimize early diagnosis, prevention and management of COPD in Canada. Targeted spirometry is strongly recommended to expedite early diagnosis in smokers and exsmokers who develop respiratory symptoms, and who are at risk for COPD. Smoking cessation remains the single most effective intervention in accordance with the increasing severity of symptoms and disability. Long-acting anticholinergics and beta2-agonist inhalers should be prescribed for patients who remain symptomatic despite short-acting bronchodilatory therapy. Inhaled steroids should not be used as first-line therapy in COPD but have a role in preventing exacerbations in patients with more advanced disease who suffer recurrent exacerbations. Management strategies consisting of combined modern pharmacotherapy and nonpharmacotherapeutic interventions (eg, pulmonary rehabilitation/exercise training) can effectively improve symptoms, activity levels and quality of life, even in patients with severe COPD. Acute exacerbations of COPD cause significant morbidity and mortality and should be treated promptly with bronchodilators and a short course of oral steroids; antibiotics should be prescribed for purulent exacerbations. Patients with advanced COPD and respiratory failure require a comprehensive management plan that incorporates structured end-of-life care.

Canada↗

Measurement of health preferences among patients with tuberculous infection and disease.

Health preferences have not previously been investigated among patients with tuberculous infection or disease. The authors assessed the reliability of visual analogue scale (VAS) and standard gamble (SG) measurements in this patient population. Participants were interviewed 3 times in English or French, at weekly intervals. They evaluated their own health status, as well as 3 marker health states, derived by consensus among tuberculosis (TB) practitioners. For the VAS, health states were assigned a duration of 6 months, whereas for the SG, the duration was 10 years. One hundred eighty-six potentially eligible individuals were identified from the TB clinic database of the Montreal Chest Institute. One hundred twelve (60%) were successfully located; of these, 106 were confirmed eligible. Sixty-seven (63%) agreed to participate, and 50 completed all study measurements (25 treated for latent TB, 17 treated for active TB, and 8 with previous active TB); 38 out of 50 were foreign-born. Intraclass correlation coefficients for the marker states were 0.57 to 0.81 for the VAS, and 0.75 to 0.87 for the SG. For respondents' own health, the coefficients were 0.60 and 0.87, respectively. Median VAS scores for respondents' own health were 85.0 to 88.0 for the 3 interviews, whereas the median utility score was 97.5 for all 3. Administration of the visual analogue scale and standard gamble instruments appeared reliable in a selected group of tuberculosis patients. Major barriers to recruitment were language and mobility in this largely foreign-born population.

Choice Behavior↗