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Query: UMLS:C0034069 (pulmonary fibrosis)
 7,050 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The lungs are a delicate interface between the atmosphere and our bodies across which oxygen diffuses from the air we breathe to the blood which carries oxygen to the cells and mitochondria. In healthy lungs at sea level where there is a surfeit of oxygen, this process occurs easily, whereas, in lungs with disease it becomes a task which may not be fully successful and hypoxemia may ensue or worsen. At high altitude where the barometric pressure (Pb) and thus the supply of oxygen is lower, the job of getting oxygen to the blood, even in the healthy lung is more difficult, and in the diseased lung it may be impossible. This presentation will review the lungs' responses to high altitude, with emphasis on the abnormal. Both acute and chronic responses of patients with pre-existing lung disease will be reviewed. Pulmonary diseases encountered at high altitude in previously healthy people, such as high altitude pulmonary edema and chronic mountain sickness will be touched on only as they pertain to other patients. Pre-existing lung disease (with and without hypoxemia at sea level) such as obstructive lung diseases (asthma, COPD, emphysema), and restrictive lung diseases (sarcoid, asbestosis, interstitial pulmonary fibrosis) will be discussed in terms of gas exchange, lung mechanics, and treatment at high altitude. Disorders of ventilatory control; e.g., obesity-hypoventilation syndrome and sleep apnea, may present formidable problems, and guidelines for their treatment will be discussed. Infectious lung diseases; e.g., pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary vascular disorders such as chronic mountain sickness, primary pulmonary hypertension, and congenital absence of the pulmonary artery are important disorders that require special attention because of the accentuated hypoxic pulmonary vascular response encountered at high altitude. The purpose therefore, is to provide the medical practitioner with the insight into prevention, recognition, and treatment of pulmonary problems encountered specifically at high altitude, as well as guidance on how best to advise patients with lung disease who want to fly in airplanes and/or ascend to high altitude for work or pleasure.
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PMID:Lung disease at high altitude. 1063 92

In cases of hypoxia, oxygen can be supplied via a number of methods including face masks, nasal cannulae, hyperoxygenated oxygen chambers and mechanical ventilation. Administering oxygen via the respiratory tract is, however, limited in respiratory diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, pneumoconiosis and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or following the inhalation of asphyxiating poisons. This has led to research into new methods of supplying oxygen that bypass the lungs. Research has investigated the efficacy of intravenous hyperoxygenated solutions (HOS) as auxiliary oxygen supplies in several hypoxic states including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, respiratory failure, cerebrovascular disease, myocardial ischaemia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, poisoning, neonatal hypoxia, altitude sickness, large burns and traumatic haemorrhagic shock. Much of the research has taken place in China and more than 3.5 million hypoxic patients have received HOS, with good therapeutic effects. This review summarizes the literature supporting the use of this novel treatment.
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PMID:Hyperoxygenated solutions in clinical practice: preventing or reducing hypoxic injury. 2211 60

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in hyperoxia and hypoxia has several applications, stemming from characterization of abnormal physiological response profiles associated with exercise intolerance. As altered oxygenation can impact the performance of gas-concentration and flow sensors and pulmonary gas exchange algorithms, integrated CPET system function requires validation under these conditions. Also, as oxygenation status can influence peak [Formula: see text]o2, care should be taken in the selection of work-rate incrementation rates when CPET performance is to be compared with normobaria at sea level. CPET has been used to evaluate the effects of supplemental O2 on exercise intolerance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, and cystic fibrosis at sea level. However, identification of those CPET indices likely to be predictive of supplemental O2 outcomes for exercise tolerance at altitude in such patients is lacking. CPET performance with supplemental O2 in respiratory patients residing at high altitudes is also poorly studied. Finally, CPET has the potential to give physiological and clinical information about acute and chronic mountain sickness, high-altitude pulmonary edema, and high-altitude cerebral edema. It may also translate high-altitude acclimatization and adaptive processes in healthy individuals into intensive care medical practice.
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PMID:Exercise Testing, Supplemental Oxygen, and Hypoxia. 2859 Jan 62