Characteristics of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Hospitalized Children Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand

Objectives This study compared the epidemiological and clinical manifestations of patients hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at a tertiary care hospital in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Methods This retrospective observational study utilized data from all cases of laboratory-confirmed RSV infection at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital from January 2016 to December 2021. Differences in the clinical presentation of RSV infection before (2016 to 2019) and during (2020 to 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed and compared. Results In total, 358 patients hospitalized with RSV infections were reported from January 2016 to December 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, only 74 cases of hospitalized RSV infection were reported. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, the clinical presentations of RSV infection showed statistically significant decreases in fever on admission (p=0.004), productive cough (p=0.004), sputum (p=0.003), nausea (p=0.03), cyanosis (p=0.004), pallor (p<0.001), diarrhea (p<0.001), and chest pain (p<0.001). Furthermore, vigilant measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including lockdowns, also interrupted the RSV season in Thailand from 2020 to 2021. Conclusions The incidence of RSV infection was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, which also changed the clinical presentation and seasonal pattern of RSV infection in children

Differences in Respiratory Muscle Responses to Hyperpnea or Loaded Breathing in COPD

Introduction We aimed to compare acute mechanical and metabolic responses of the diaphragm and rib cage inspiratory muscles during two different types of respiratory loading in patients with COPD. Methods In 16 patients (age:65±13, 56% male, FEV1:60±6%pred, Pimax:82±5%pred) assessments of respiratory muscle electromyography (EMG), esophageal (Pes) and gastric (Pga) pressures, breathing pattern, and noninvasive assessments of systemic (VO2, cardiac output, oxygen delivery and extraction) and respiratory muscle hemodynamic and oxygenation responses (blood flow index [BFI], oxygen delivery index, deoxyhemoglobin concentration [HHb] and tissues oxygen saturation [StiO2]), were performed during hyperpnea and loaded breathing. Results During hyperpnea, breathing frequency, minute ventilation, esophageal and diaphragm pressure-time product (PTP)/min, cardiac output and VO2 were higher than during loaded breathing (P0.05). SCA-BFI and oxygen delivery index were lower, and SCA-HHb was higher during loaded breathing compared to hyperpnea. Furthermore, SCA and intercostal muscle StiO2 were lower during loaded breathing compared to hyperpnea (P<0.05). Conclusion Greater inspiratory muscle effort during loaded breathing evoked larger ribcage and neck muscle activation compared to hyperpnea. In addition, lower SCA and intercostal muscle StiO2 during loaded breathing compared to hyperpnea indicates a mismatch between inspiratory muscle oxygen delivery and utilization induced by the former condition

High-intensity exercise impairs extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle perfusion in patients with COPD

The study investigated whether high-intensity exercise impairs inspiratory and expiratory muscle perfusion in patients with COPD. We compared respiratory local muscle perfusion between constant-load cycling (sustained at 80% WRpeak) and voluntary normocapnic hyperpnoea reproducing similar work of breathing (WoB) in 18 patients (FEV1:58±24% predicted). Local muscle blood flow index (BFI), using indocyanine green dye and fractional oxygen saturation (%StiO2)were simultaneously assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) over the intercostal, scalene, rectus abdominis and vastus lateralis muscles. Cardiac output (impedance cardiography), WoB (oesophageal/gastric balloon catheter), and diaphragmatic and extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle electromyographic activity (EMG) were also assessed throughout cycling and hyperpnoea. Minute ventilation, breathing pattern, WoB and respiratory muscle EMG were comparable between cycling and hyperpnoea. During cycling, cardiac output and vastus lateralis BFI were significantly greater compared to hyperpnoea [by +4.2(2.6-5.9) L/min and +4.9(2.2-7.8) nmol/s], respectively, (p<0.01). Muscle BFI and %StiO2 were respectively lower during cycling compared to hyperpnoea in scalene [by -3.8(-6.4- -1.2) nmol/s and -6.6(-8.2- -5.1)%], intercostal [by -1.4(-2.4- -0.4) nmol/s and -6.0(-8.6- -3.3)%] and abdominal muscles [by -1.9(-2.9- -0.8) nmol/s and -6.3(-9.1- -3.4)%] (p<0.001). The difference in respiratory (scalene and intercostal) muscle BFI between cycling and hyperpnoea was associated with greater dyspnoea (Borg CR10) scores (r= -0.54 and r= -0.49, respectively, p<0.05). These results suggest that in patients with COPD 1) locomotor muscle work during high-intensity exercise impairs extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle perfusion and that 2) insufficient adjustment in extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle perfusion during high-intensity exercise may partly explain the increased sensations of dyspnoea

ERS statement on standardisation of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in chronic lung diseases

The objective of this document was to standardise published cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) protocols for improved interpretation in clinical settings and multicentre research projects. This document: 1) summarises the protocols and procedures used in published studies focusing on incremental CPET in chronic lung conditions; 2) presents standard incremental protocols for CPET on a stationary cycle ergometer and a treadmill; and 3) provides patients’ perspectives on CPET obtained through an online survey supported by the European Lung Foundation. We systematically reviewed published studies obtained from EMBASE, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library from inception to January 2017. Of 7914 identified studies, 595 studies with 26 523 subjects were included. The literature supports a test protocol with a resting phase lasting at least 3 min, a 3-min unloaded phase, and an 8- to 12-min incremental phase with work rate increased linearly at least every minute, followed by a recovery phase of at least 2–3 min. Patients responding to the survey (n=295) perceived CPET as highly beneficial for their diagnostic assessment and informed the Task Force consensus. Future research should focus on the individualised estimation of optimal work rate increments across different lung diseases, and the collection of robust normative data.The document facilitates standardisation of conducting, reporting and interpreting cardiopulmonary exercise tests in chronic lung diseases for comparison of reference data, multi-centre studies and assessment of interventional efficacy. http://bit.ly/31SXeB

Epidemiology and associated factors for hospitalization related respiratory syncytial virus infection among children less than 5 years of age in Northern Thailand

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is often the main problem in young children that require hospitalization. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with RSV-related hospitalizations in young children less than five years old. Methodology: A retrospective study was conducted for acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) at a tertiary care hospital from January 2017 to December 2021 by using binary logistic regression analysis to detect the associated factors with RSV-related hospitalizations in children. Results: RSV-related hospitalization was detected in 293 of 410 (71.46 %) cases of RSV infection, most of which appeared in the rainy months of August to November. The most common symptoms and signs were 81.5 % rhinorrhea, 70.7 % cough, 68.5 % sore throat, 68.3 % sputum production, and 66.8 % fever. Factors associated with RSV-related hospitalization were age less than or equal to 2 years (aOR = 4.62, 95 % CI = 1.86–11.44), preterm birth (aOR = 2.61, 95 % CI = 1.05–6.10), patients with underlying disease (aOR = 3.06, 95 % CI = 1.21–10.34), and the presenting symptoms with sputum production (aOR = 16.49, 95 % CI = 3.80–71.55). Laboratory blood tests, low levels of hematocrit (aOR = 9.61, 95 % CI = 1.09–84.49) was the associated factor for hospitalization with RSV infection (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Factors associated with RSV-related hospitalizations in children were age less than or equal to two years, preterm birth, underlying disease, symptoms of sputum production. The low level of hematocrit was also associated with RSV-related hospitalizations in these children

Assessing the effects of inspiratory muscle training in a patient with unilateral diaphragm dysfunction.

Patients with diaphragm dysfunction experience exertional dyspnoea. Respiratory muscle function assessments can identify breathing abnormalities and IMT might help to reduce symptoms (mostly via improvements in non-diaphragmatic muscles). http://bit.ly/2QdxNFP.status: publishe

Comparison Between Manual and (Semi-)Automated Analyses of Esophageal Diaphragm Electromyography During Endurance Cycling in Patients With COPD

Background: Electrocardiogram (ECG) contamination is present in diaphragm electromyography (EMGdi) recordings. Obtaining EMGdi without ECG contamination is crucial for EMG amplitude analysis. Manually selecting EMGdi in between QRS complexes has been most commonly applied in recent years (manual method). We developed a semi-automated analysis method based on Least Mean Square Adaptive Filtering combined with a synchronously recorded separate ECG channel to remove ECG artifacts from the EMGdi signals. We hypothesized that this approach would shorten analysis duration and might minimize the potential for inter-rater disagreement. Aims: We aimed to evaluate agreement between the semi-automated method and the manual method and inter-rater reliability of the manual method. Methods: Electromyography signals of seven patients with COPD were recorded using an esophageal catheter during an exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Four patients subsequently participated in an inspiratory muscle training (IMT) program for 8 weeks. After IMT, the tests were repeated. EMGdi/EMGdiMax as obtained either manually by the two assessors or retrieved from the semi-automated method were compared. Results: Semi-automated EMGdi/EMGdiMax agreed well with values obtained by one of the two manual assessors (assessor 1) both at pre-intervention measurements (mean difference -0.5%, 95% CI: -19.6 to 18.6%) and for the pre/post IMT differences (mean difference 1.2%, 95% CI: -16.8 to 19.2%). Intra-class correlation coefficients between methods were 0.96 (95% CI: 0.94-0.97) at pre-intervention measurements and 0.78 (95% CI: -0.58-0.89) for pre/post IMT differences (both p &lt; 0.001). EMGdi/EMGdiMax from assessor 2 was systematically lower than from assessor 1 and agreed less well with the semi-automated method both at pre-intervention measurements (mean difference: 9.3%, 95% CI: -11.4 to 29.9%) and for pre/post IMT differences (mean difference 7.0%, 95% CI: -20.4 to 34.4%). Analysis duration of the semi-automated method was significantly shorter (29 +/- 9 min) than the manual method (82 +/- 20 min, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: The developed semi-automated method is more time efficient and will be less prone to inter-rater variability that was observed when applying the manual analysis method. It is, therefore, proposed as a new standard for objective EMGdi amplitude analyses in future studies

Comparison Between Manual and (Semi-)Automated Analyses of Esophageal Diaphragm Electromyography During Endurance Cycling in Patients With COPD

Background: Electrocardiogram (ECG) contamination is present in diaphragm electromyography (EMGdi) recordings. Obtaining EMGdi without ECG contamination is crucial for EMG amplitude analysis. Manually selecting EMGdi in between QRS complexes has been most commonly applied in recent years (manual method). We developed a semi-automated analysis method based on Least Mean Square Adaptive Filtering combined with a synchronously recorded separate ECG channel to remove ECG artifacts from the EMGdi signals. We hypothesized that this approach would shorten analysis duration and might minimize the potential for inter-rater disagreement. Aims: We aimed to evaluate agreement between the semi-automated method and the manual method and inter-rater reliability of the manual method. Methods: Electromyography signals of seven patients with COPD were recorded using an esophageal catheter during an exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Four patients subsequently participated in an inspiratory muscle training (IMT) program for 8 weeks. After IMT, the tests were repeated. EMGdi/EMGdiMax as obtained either manually by the two assessors or retrieved from the semi-automated method were compared. Results: Semi-automated EMGdi/EMGdiMax agreed well with values obtained by one of the two manual assessors (assessor 1) both at pre-intervention measurements (mean difference -0.5%, 95% CI: -19.6 to 18.6%) and for the pre/post IMT differences (mean difference 1.2%, 95% CI: -16.8 to 19.2%). Intra-class correlation coefficients between methods were 0.96 (95% CI: 0.94-0.97) at pre-intervention measurements and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.58-0.89) for pre/post IMT differences (both p < 0.001). EMGdi/EMGdiMax from assessor 2 was systematically lower than from assessor 1 and agreed less well with the semi-automated method both at pre-intervention measurements (mean difference: 9.3%, 95% CI: -11.4 to 29.9%) and for pre/post IMT differences (mean difference 7.0%, 95% CI: -20.4 to 34.4%). Analysis duration of the semi-automated method was significantly shorter (29 ± 9 min) than the manual method (82 ± 20 min, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The developed semi-automated method is more time efficient and will be less prone to inter-rater variability that was observed when applying the manual analysis method. It is, therefore, proposed as a new standard for objective EMGdi amplitude analyses in future studies.status: publishe

High-intensity exercise impairs extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle perfusion in patients with COPD

The study investigated whether high-intensity exercise impairs inspiratory and expiratory muscle perfusion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We compared respiratory local muscle perfusion between constant-load cycling[sustained at 80% peak work rate (WRpeak)] and voluntary normocapnic hyperpnea reproducing similar work of breathing (WoB) in 18 patients [forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1): 58 ± 24% predicted]. Local muscle blood flow index (BFI), using indocyanine green dye, and fractional oxygen saturation (%StiO2) were simultaneously assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) over the intercostal, scalene, rectus abdominis, and vastus lateralis muscles. Cardiac output (impedance cardiography), WoB (esophageal/gastric balloon catheter), and diaphragmatic and extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle electromyographic activity (EMG) were also assessed throughout cycling and hyperpnea. Minute ventilation, breathing pattern, WoB, and respiratory muscle EMG were comparable between cycling and hyperpnea. During cycling, cardiac output and vastus lateralis BFI were significantly greater compared with hyperpnea [by +4.2 (2.6-5.9) L/min and +4.9 (2.2-7.8) nmol/s, respectively] (P < 0.01). Muscle BFI and %StiO2 were, respectively, lower during cycling compared with hyperpnea in scalene [by -3.8 (-6.4 to -1.2) nmol/s and -6.6 (-8.2 to -5.1)%], intercostal [by -1.4 (-2.4 to -0.4) nmol/s and -6.0 (-8.6 to -3.3)%], and abdominal muscles [by -1.9 (-2.9 to -0.8) nmol/s and -6.3 (-9.1 to -3.4)%] (P < 0.001). The difference in respiratory (scalene and intercostal) muscle BFI between cycling and hyperpnea was associated with greater dyspnea (Borg CR10) scores (r = -0.54 and r = -0.49, respectively, P < 0.05). These results suggest that in patients with COPD, 1) locomotor muscle work during high-intensity exercise impairs extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle perfusion and 2) insufficient adjustment in extradiaphragmatic respiratory muscle perfusion during high-intensity exercise may partly explain the increased sensations of dyspnea.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We simultaneously assessed the blood flow index (BFI) in three respiratory muscles during hyperpnea and high-intensity constant-load cycling sustained at comparable levels of work of breathing and respiratory neural drive in patients with COPD. We demonstrated that high-intensity exercise impairs respiratory muscle perfusion, as intercostal, scalene, and abdominal BFI increased during hyperpnea but not during cycling. Insufficient adjustment in respiratory muscle perfusion during exercise was associated with greater dyspnea sensations in patients with COPD.status: publishe

Differences in Respiratory Muscle Responses to Hyperpnea or Loaded Breathing in COPD

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to compare acute mechanical and metabolic responses of the diaphragm and rib cage inspiratory muscles during two different types of respiratory loading in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS: In 16 patients (age, 65 ± 13 yr; 56% male; forced expiratory volume in the first second, 60 ± 6%pred; maximum inspiratory pressure, 82 ± 5%pred), assessments of respiratory muscle EMG, esophageal pressure (Pes) and gastric pressures, breathing pattern, and noninvasive assessments of systemic (V˙O2, cardiac output, oxygen delivery and extraction) and respiratory muscle hemodynamic and oxygenation responses (blood flow index, oxygen delivery index, deoxyhemoglobin concentration, and tissues oxygen saturation [StiO2]), were performed during hyperpnea and loaded breathing. RESULTS: During hyperpnea, breathing frequency, minute ventilation, esophageal and diaphragm pressure-time product per minute, cardiac output, and V˙O2 were higher than during loaded breathing (P 0.05). SCA-blood flow index and oxygen delivery index were lower, and SCA-deoxyhemoglobin concentration was higher during loaded breathing compared with hyperpnea. Furthermore, SCA and intercostal muscle StiO2 were lower during loaded breathing compared with hyperpnea (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Greater inspiratory muscle effort during loaded breathing evoked larger rib cage and neck muscle activation compared with hyperpnea. In addition, lower SCA and intercostal muscle StiO2 during loaded breathing compared with hyperpnea indicates a mismatch between inspiratory muscle oxygen delivery and utilization induced by the former condition.status: publishe