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R Estopà

Publications and source records attributed to R Estopà.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Randomised trial of corticosteroids in the treatment of tuberculous pleurisy.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous pleurisy can result in pleural fibrosis, calcification and thickening. To prevent these complications, corticosteroids are frequently used in addition to antituberculous drugs; however, new therapeutic regimens can control the disease and minimise the sequelae, and there is no convincing evidence of the benefit of the use of corticosteroids as adjuvant therapy. METHODS: Patients received isoniazid 5 mg/kg and rifampicin 10 mg/kg daily for six months. Additionally, they were randomly assigned to a double blind treatment with either prednisone (1 mg/kg/day for 15 days and then tapering off) or placebo during the first month of treatment. Different clinical, radiological, and functional parameters were evaluated to assess the effect of corticosteroids. RESULTS: Fifty seven patients received prednisone and 60 placebo. At the end of the treatment the clinical outcome, the rate of reabsorption of the pleural fluid, the pleural sequelae, as well as lung capacity were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Corticosteroids do not influence the clinical outcome or the development of long term pleural sequelae in tuberculous pleurisy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Tuberculous pleural effusion: experience with six months of treatment with isoniazid and rifampicin.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous pleurisy is associated with small numbers of bacteria. Due to the low rate of primary resistance to antituberculous drugs a two-drug regimen was used to treat the condition. METHODS: Patients received isoniazid 5 mg/kg and rifampicin 10 mg/kg daily for six months. Clinical, radiological, and haematological assessments were performed during treatment and patients were followed up for a median period of 41 (range 6-96) months. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty patients were studied with a mean age of 27 (range 11-53) years. Seven were withdrawn due to parenchymal disease and eight were lost to follow up during the treatment period. Side effects during treatment were frequent (20.7%), but only three patients required a change in medication. No treatment failures were observed. One hundred and fifteen patients completed therapy and were followed up for 41 (range 6-96) months with no evidence of a relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Tuberculous pleurisy responds well to a two-drug regimen of antituberculous therapy given for six months.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[The evaluation of the oxygen-conserving valve during exertion].

BACKGROUND: The oxygen-conserving valve (OCV) permits reduction in oxygen consumption upon the release of oxygen only during inhalation thereby increasing the autonomy of portable sources. METHODS: In order to confirm its efficacy during exercise, 15 patients with chronic limitation of air flow and gasometric criteria of domiciliary oxygen therapy were selected. The patients underwent three walking tests (WT) of 6 minutes during which the continuous form of transcutaneous hemoglobin saturation (SaO2) and the distance covered were registered. The first was carried out breathing synthetic air at a flow of 2 liters per minute; the second with continuous oxygen released by a portable source at 2 liters per minute and the third with the OCV coupled to a portable source at the same flow. RESULTS: SaO2 reached with the continuous oxygen is significantly higher to that of synthetic air while there was no difference between the SaO2 with continuous oxygen and with valve. Improvement in SaO2 upon use the valve was not obtained in only 2 of the 15 patients. A significant increase was observed in the distance covered upon oxygen administration not only in the continuous form but also with OCV with respect to synthetic air. CONCLUSIONS: OCV is as effective as continuous oxygen in the correction of desaturation during exercise, however its indications must be individualized by exercise tests (WT) in each patients in order to ensure its correct functioning.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Long-term effects of home mechanical ventilation with positive pressure using a nasal mask].

Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is an efficient alternative in the treatment of patients with chronic respiratory failure secondary to restrictive mechanical disorders (neuromuscular disease, such as Duchenne's disease, thorax deformities due to kyphoscoliosis or tuberculosis sequelae). The case of a patient with severe kyphoscoliosis in the phase of chronic respiratory failure (PaO2 34 mmHg and PaCO2 61 mmHg, breathing ambient air) is presented in which, following the failure of negative pressure mechanical ventilation ("poncho"), positive pressure ventilation was tested with a silicon made-to-measure nasal mask as the access via. Adaptation to HMV was good with the patient using the ventilation nightly. Following 12 months of treatment the patient is able to carry out everyday activities and arterial gasometry breathing ambient air is PaO2 77 mmHg and PaCO2 43 mmHg.

Female↗
PubMed1990

[The introduction of liquid oxygen as a portable source in continuous home oxygen therapy].

The most widespread types of oxygen delivery at home in our area are bottles where the gas is stored under pressure and concentrators. Both devices can only be used at rest. We have assessed a new system for the delivery of liquid oxygen to be used at home, provided with a portable unit which permits that the patients receive oxygen also outside their homes. Seven such devices have been implemented in the Barcelona area, with an excellent acceptance and without technical problems. To verify the clinical indication, exercise tests were carried out both in baseline conditions and receiving oxygen from the portable source. Oxyhemoglobin saturation and the walked distance were continuously measured. In all patients important drops in the saturation of oxyhemoglobin were recorded during walking, which was corrected with oxygen administration. Liquid oxygen with a portable source is a good delivery system for oxygen therapy at home, permitting to receive oxygen throughout the day, particularly during exercise. Although the availability of liquid oxygen is limited, it should be recommended to the patients in whom exercise hypoxemia is shown to be corrected and who desire an active social life.

Drug Storage↗
PubMed1989

[The tobacco habit in patients using home oxygen therapy].

The persistence of smoking habits results in a worse prognosis of patients with chronic airflow limitation. Some authors consider that oxygen therapy at home (OTH) is meaningless if the patient does not give up smoking. To assess the number of smokers in a group of 65 patients on OTH, a questionnaire on smoking habits was administered and the CO concentration in the expired air was measured. 27.7% of the study patients smoked; 12.3% admitted that they smoked on being questioned and the remaining 15.4% were identified by CO concentrations in the expired air equal to or higher than 10 ppm. There were no significant differences between the groups of smokers and nonsmokers regarding age and pulmonary function, but the rate of those declaring a poor compliance with OTH was higher among smokers.

Aged↗