Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews - Volume 7, Issue 2, 2011

Full text available.

Full text available.

Standardized exercise testing has almost become a routine procedure in pediatrics. However, exercise testing should only be performed when indications and contraindications for the procedure have been considered and experienced staff and adequate equipment for testing and emergency measures are available. Most tests are conducted in children aged 5 years or older using a treadmill or a cycle ergometer. V Read More

Pulmonary complications are the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the postoperative period after congenital heart surgery. In this review we discuss the diverse pathological mechanisms that contribute to these pulmonary complications. Both mechanical and gas exchange abnormalities result in increased ventilatory requirements, ICU stay and mortality. Parenchymal lung disease can be caused by a variety Read More

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in pediatric patients differs in many aspects from the tests as performed in adults. Children's cardiopulmonary responses during exercise testing present different characteristics, particularly indices of respiratory gas exchange (e.g. oxygen uptake, ventilation and ventilatory efficiency), which are essential in interpreting hemodynamic data. Diseases that are associated with Read More

The modern era of surgical palliation, perioperative strategies, and myocardial preservation has dramatically altered the long-term outcome for children with congenital heart disease. Even children surgically corrected for more complex heart disease are now surviving to ages where physical activity and sports participation are not only considered but encouraged by pediatric cardiologists secondary to the benefits of regular p Read More

Cardio respiratory exercise testing provides an objective measurement of aerobic exercise capacity in patients with congenital heart disease. Many patients with congenital heart disease have decreased exercise capacity despite a lack of symptoms. Patients with simple lesions tend to have better exercise capacity than those with complex lesions, but individual variation exists. The reasons for this impairment in exercise cap Read More

In a population of patients after successful heart surgery for congenital heart defects (CHD) might emerge noncardiac morbidities. Malfunction of the respiratory system (RS) including chest wall deformities (CWD) may represent risk for a long-term functional performance and QoL of these subjects. This review aims for the long-term (abnormal pulmonary hemodynamics prior to surgery) or short-term (e.g. thoracotomy) har Read More

Background: There are ethical issues about randomizing individuals with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) into groups that receive therapy and those that do not, which means that longitudinal studies are necessary. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on cardiovascular outcomes in OSAHS patients and to discuss the use of OSAHS trea Read More

Increasing use of ultrasonography during pregnancy has uncovered a range of parenchymal lesions within the lung, some of which will, if left, be a cause of morbidity and occasional mortality. These include congenital cystic adenomatoid malformations (CCAM), bronchopulmonary sequestration (BPS), congenital lobar & segmental emphysema and bronchogenic cysts. Adverse antenatal features include mediastinal shift, caval ob Read More

The identification of different phenotypes within chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) can be important for identifying key mechanisms in the disease process and may help guide treatment plans. The term “phenotype”, first coined by the Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen in 1909, is defined as “the observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment”. Numero Read More