Clinical Course of 53 Previously Vaccinated Patients Admitted to the National Hospital in Warsaw, Poland with COVID-19 Between November 2021 and March 2022.

BACKGROUND Current vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and vaccine booster programs aim to reduce hospitalizations due to severe COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). It is now accepted that vaccination does not completely prevent infection and that breakthrough COVID-19 does occur. This study included 53 vaccinated patients who were hospitalized at a single center in Poland with breakthrough COVID-19 and aimed to evaluate the factors associated with their clinical course.

The Course of COVID-19 among Unvaccinated Patients-Data from the National Hospital in Warsaw, Poland.

Introduction: Studies to date indicate the relatively high effectiveness of vaccinations in preventing severe COVID-19 symptoms. However, in Poland, 40% of the population remains unvaccinated.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the natural history of COVID-19 in unvaccinated hospital patients in Warsaw, Poland.

Efficacy of oral amantadine among patients hospitalised with COVID-19: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study.

Background: Amantadine has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 because it shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro. However, to date, no controlled study has assessed the safety and efficacy of amantadine in COVID-19.

Research Question: Whether amantadine is effective and safe among patients with different COVID-19 severity classifications.

Building a home ventilation programme: population, equipment, delivery and cost.

Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) improves quality of life and survival in patients with neuromuscular disorders (NMD). Developing countries may benefit from published evidence regarding the prevalence, cost of equipment, technical issues and organisation of HMV in NMD, facilitating the development of local turn-key HMV programmes. Unfortunately, such evidence is scattered in the existing literature.

Development of Home Mechanical Ventilation in Poland in 2009-2019 Based on the Data of the National Health Fund.

Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is a dynamically developing field of medicine driven by the increasing number of patients and technological advancements. In Poland, HMV has been financed from public funds since 2004. However, the organization of HMV is still evolving in search of the optimal model of care.

Validation of the Polish version of Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire.

Introduction: Improvement in the quality of life (QoL) is an essential outcome in patients with chronic respiratory failure (CRF). However, its reliable and comparative assessment is difficult in this highly heterogeneous group of patients. Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire (SRI) has shown to have high psychometric properties to measure specific health-related QoL in patients with CRF due to different pathologies.

Complex home assessment of long-term non-invasive ventilation efficacy using transcutaneous monitoring of PCO and polygraphy - A feasibility study.

Purpose: Home non-invasive ventilation (HNIV) during sleep is a standard treatment for chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure (CHRF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the complex overnight assessment of HNIV in adults performed at home and the efficacy of HNIV after one year of treatment.

Methods: Stable patients with CHRF on HNIV for more than 12 months had unattended polygraphy (PG) with transcutaneous monitoring of PCO (tcPCO) at home during one night.

Psychosocial Interventions for Patients with Severe COPD-An Up-to-Date Literature Review.

: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a life limiting condition with a long list of serious psychosocial consequences, aggravating with illness progression. In advanced stages, chronic respiratory failure often develops, which might undermine mental health and reduce activity. The study objective was to review the recent studies concerning psychosocial interventions dedicated to patients with severe COPD.

European Respiratory Society guidelines on long-term home non-invasive ventilation for management of COPD.

Background: While the role of acute non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been shown to improve outcome in acute life-threatening hypercapnic respiratory failure in COPD, the evidence of clinical efficacy of long-term home NIV (LTH-NIV) for management of COPD is less. This document provides evidence-based recommendations for the clinical application of LTH-NIV in chronic hypercapnic COPD patients.

Materials And Methods: The European Respiratory Society task force committee was composed of clinicians, methodologists and experts in the field of LTH-NIV.

How should we monitor patients with acute respiratory failure treated with noninvasive ventilation?

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is currently one of the most commonly used support methods in hypoxaemic and hypercapnic acute respiratory failure (ARF). With advancing technology and increasing experience, not only are indications for NIV getting broader, but more severe patients are treated with NIV. Depending on disease type and clinical status, NIV can be applied both in the general ward and in high-dependency/intensive care unit settings with different environmental opportunities.

Indoor air quality, ventilation and respiratory health in elderly residents living in nursing homes in Europe.

Few data exist on respiratory effects of indoor air quality and comfort parameters in the elderly. In the context of the GERIE study, we investigated for the first time the relationships of these factors to respiratory morbidity among elderly people permanently living in nursing homes in seven European countries. 600 elderly people from 50 nursing homes underwent a medical examination and completed a standardised questionnaire.

The evolution of home mechanical ventilation in poland between 2000 and 2010.

Background: Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is a routine method of treatment for patients with chronic ventilatory failure. Over the last 20 y, a marked development in HMV has been noted in terms of its prevalence and the changing proportion of patients with various indications. However, data on HMV come exclusively from the developed countries of Europe and North America.

[Estimation of volume of pleural fluid and its impact on spirometrical parameters].

Unlabelled: In the course of various diseases, there is an accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavities. Pleural fluid accumulation causes thoracic volume expansion and reduction of volume lungs, leading to formation of restrictive disorders. The aim of the study was to estimate the volume of pleural fluid by ultrasonography and to search for the relationship between pleural fluid volume and spirometrical parameters.

[Benefits of oxygen on exercise performance in patients with chronic lung diseases].

Chronic respiratory diseases limit exercise capacity, due to breathlessness and hypoxemia. A decrease in daily activity results in impairment of quality of life and higher mortality. Oxygen therapy improves exercise capacity.

[Usefulness of NT-proBNP serum level in the diagnosis of dyspnea in COPD patients].

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases often coexist with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and in some cases it is difficult to differentiate between cardiac and pulmonary cause of dyspnoea. It is well known that the serum concentration of NT-proBNP in patients with cardiovascular diseases, especially with congestive heart failure, is elevated. The aim of this study was to estimate the usefulness of NT-proBNP serum level measurement in patients with COPD complaining of chronic dyspnoea.

[The role of non-invasive ventilation in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is one of the most important developments in pulmonology over the past 15 years. Physiologic effect of NIV is the same as that of invasive ventilation and consists of unloading respiratory muscles and improving oxygenation. Nevertheless avoidance of ominous complications of intubation gives important advantages of NIV over invasive ventilation.

[Prevalence of home mechanical ventilation in Poland].

Introduction: Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is increasingly used in the treatment of chronic respiratory failure thanks to rapid technological development, increasing number of elderly people and extension of indications. The aim of the study was to assess: prevalence of HMV in Poland, the proportions of lung disease and neuromuscular patients using HMV and the type of interface (invasive v. non-invasive).

[Effects of nurse home visits on compliance to long-term oxygen therapy. 14 months follow-up].

Introduction: Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) is the only treatment improving survival of patients with respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Benefits of treatment depend mainly on daily duration of oxygen use. The aim of the study was to assess daily use of oxygen and to evaluate influencing factors.

Comparing supplementary oxygen benefits from a portable oxygen concentrator and a liquid oxygen portable device during a walk test in COPD patients on long-term oxygen therapy.

Background: Differences in oxygen delivery between portable oxygen concentrators (POC) and liquid oxygen (LO) portable units, pose a question if POCs are equally effective as LOs in reducing exercise-induced hypoxaemia.

Design: Randomized, single-blind clinical trial.

Patients: Thirteen COPD patients (means: age 66+/-11 year, FEV(1) 35.

[Diagnostic utility of pleural fluid eosinophilia].

Diagnostic utility of eosinophilic pleural effusion (EPE) is still the matter of controversy. Some earlier studies have showed that pleural fluid eosinophilia considerably reduces the probability of malignancy, while some later analyses were not able to confirm such an observation. To evaluate the diagnostic significance of EPE the retrospective study of all patients with pleural effusion (PE) managed in our hospital between 1995 and 2001 has been undertaken.