Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder associated with a significant economic burden. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and auto-titrating positive airway pressure (APAP) are recognized therapeutic options in patients with OSA, although treatment costs are higher with APAP. We conducted a study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and potential cost savings resulting from the implementation of a protocol guiding the transition to CPAP in OSA patients previously treated with APAP. Methods: This prospective study included patients with OSA under APAP who were followed up at the Sleep Medicine outpatient clinic of a tertiary referral hospital between January 2019 and January 2021. Treatment was switched to CPAP in patients who met the following criteria: satisfactory adaptation and adherence to APAP, residual apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of < 5/hour, and no relevant air leaks. APAP and CPAP outcomes were compared and an estimate of the savings obtained by the transition from APAP to CPAP was calculated. Results: Ninety-three patients were included in the study. APAP and CPAP were both effective in correcting obstructive events and improving daytime sleepiness. No significant differences were found regarding treatment adherence and tolerance between both PAP modalities. The selection of fixed-pressure CPAP through 90th or 95th percentile APAP pressure proved to be effective and an alternative strategy to titration polysomnography. At the end of this two-year study, the transition from APAP to CPAP enabled savings of at least 10,353?. Conclusion: The transition from APAP to CPAP may be an effective, well-tolerated, safe, and cost-saving strategy in patients with OSA.

Keywords: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP); auto-titrating positive airway pressure (APAP); health care costs

1. LabSono, Hospital Mãe de Deus Center, Porto Alegre (RS) Brasil. 2. Laboratório do Sono, Laboratório de Investigação Médica 63, Divisão de Pneumologia, Instituto do Coração – InCor – Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo – HCFMUSP – São Paulo (SP) Brasil.

Objective: To profile the characteristics of adult patients with bronchiectasis, drawing comparisons between cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and those with bronchiectasis from other causes in order to determine whether it is rational to extrapolate the bronchiectasis treatment given to CF patients to those with bronchiectasis from other causes. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical charts of 87 patients diagnosed with bronchiectasis and under follow-up treatment at our outpatient clinic. Patients who had tuberculosis (current or previous) were excluded. We evaluated the clinical, functional, and treatment data of the patients. Results: Of the 87 patients with bronchiectasis, 38 (43.7%) had been diagnosed with CF, through determination of sweat sodium and chloride concentrations or through genetic analysis, whereas the disease was due to another etiology in 49 (56.3%), of whom 34 (39.0%) had been diagnosed with idiopathic bronchiectasis. The mean age at diagnosis was lower in the patients with CF than in those without (14.2 vs. 24.2 years; p < 0.05). The prevalence of symptoms (cough, expectoration, hemoptysis, and wheezing) was similar between the groups. Colonization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus was more common in the CF patients (82.4 vs. 29.7% and 64.7 vs. 5.4%, respectively). Conclusions: The causes and clinical manifestations of bronchiectasis are heterogeneous, and it is important to identify the differences. It is crucial that these differences be recognized so that new strategies for the management of patients with bronchiectasis can be developed.

Keywords: Cystic fibrosis; Bronchiectasis/diagnosis; Bronchiectasis/therapy; Respiratory function tests.

This review study aimed to determine the relationship between exposure to smoke from biomass burning in the Amazon rain forest and its implications on human health in that region in Brazil. A nonsystematic review was carried out by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, SciELO, and EMBASE databases for articles published between 2005 and 2021, either in Portuguese or in English, using the search terms "biomass burning" OR "Amazon" OR "burned" AND "human health." The review showed that the negative health effects of exposure to smoke from biomass burning in the Amazon have been poorly studied in that region. There is an urgent need to identify effective public health interventions that can help improve the behavior of vulnerable populations exposed to smoke from biomass burning, reducing morbidity and mortality related to that exposure.

Keywords: Fires; Air pollution; Risk factors; Risk assessment; Rainforest; Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the number of hospitalizations, the length of hospital stay, and mortality due to asthma, as well as the costs to the Unified Health Care System in Brazil between 2008 and 2021. Methods: This was a cross-sectional epidemiological study using data from the Information Technology Department of the Brazilian Unified Health Care System. Proportional hospitalization and death rates were estimated per 100,000 population by age, microregion, and year. Results: The number of hospitalizations and deaths due to asthma decreased from 2008 to 2021 (205,392 vs. 55,009 and 822 vs. 327, respectively). In addition, a between-sex difference was observed in asthma-related hospitalizations in 2008, and more men were hospitalized in 2021 (51.8%). Asthma mortality rates were similar for both sexes (50.0% each) in 2008, and a slight increase was observed in women's deaths in 2021 (52.9%). Even so, approximately one death/day and more than 55,000 hospitalizations were observed yearly, with a mean length of hospital stay of three days. Additionally, the Southeast region allocated more financial resources to asthma-related hospitalizations. Conclusions: Our results showed that the number of deaths and hospitalizations due to asthma substantially declined during the study period.

Keywords: Asthma/mortality; Asthma/epidemiology; Hospitalization; National health programs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to use a Serbian-language version of the disease-specific, self-report Sarcoidosis Health Questionnaire (SHQ), which was designed and originally validated in the United States, to assess health status in sarcoidosis patients in Serbia, as well as validating the instrument for use in the country. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 346 patients with biopsy-confirmed sarcoidosis. To evaluate the health status of the patients, we used the SHQ, which was translated into Serbian for the purposes of this study. We compared SHQ scores by patient gender and age, as well as by disease duration and treatment. Lower SHQ scores indicate poorer health status. Results: The SHQ scores demonstrated differences in health status among subgroups of the sarcoidosis patients evaluated. Health status was found to be significantly poorer among female patients and older patients, as well as among those with chronic sarcoidosis or extrapulmonary manifestations of the disease. Monotherapy with methotrexate was found to be associated with better health status than was monotherapy with prednisone or combination therapy with prednisone and methotrexate. Conclusions: The SHQ is a reliable, disease-specific, self-report instrument. Although originally designed for use in the United States, the SHQ could be a useful tool for the assessment of health status in various non-English-speaking populations of sarcoidosis patients.

Keywords: Sarcoidosis; Health status; Validation studies; Questionnaires; Self report; Serbia.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the outcomes and explore predictors of intubation and mortality in patients with ARDS due to COVID-19 treated with CPAP delivered via a helmet interface and light sedation. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study involving patients with COVID-19-related ARDS who received CPAP using a helmet developed in Brazil (ELMOT), associated with a light sedation protocol in a pulmonology ward. Demographic, clinical, imaging, and laboratory data, as well as the duration and response to the ELMO-CPAP sessions, were analyzed. Results: The sample comprised 180 patients. The intubation avoidance rate was 72.8%. The lack of necessity for intubation was positively correlated with younger age, > 24-h continuous HELMET-CPAP use in the first session, < 75% pulmonary involvement on CT, and ROX index > 4.88 in the second hour. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 18.9%, whereas those in the nonintubated and intubated groups were 3.0% and 61.2%, respectively. Advanced age increased the mortality risk by 2.8 times, escalating to 13 times post-intubation. Conclusions: ELMO-CPAP with light sedation in a pulmonology ward was successful in > 70% of patients with moderate to severe ARDS due to COVID-19. Younger age, pulmonary involvement, ROX index, and prolonged first Helmet-CPAP session duration were associated with no need for intubation. Older age and intubation are associated with mortality.

Keywords: Respiratory distress syndrome; COVID-19; Continuous positive airway pressure; helmets ; Dexmedetomidine.

Objective: To determine the impact that an educational intervention employing problem-solving strategies for the environmental control of aeroallergens has on environmental conditions in the households of children with asthma. The intervention was carried out by community health agents. Methods: This was a prospective intervention study. The community health agents visited 95 households in which there were children (2-10 years of age) who had recurrent episodes of wheezing and dyspnea. All of the households investigated were in the city of Iguatu, Brazil. The educational interventions involved focus groups and community health agents. The focus groups were asked to brainstorm the educational measures to be implemented, in order to devise problem-solving strategies. After the intervention, 84 households were revisited and reevaluated. Results: After the intervention, there was a significant decrease in the use of brooms for cleaning the floor (p = 0.02), in the use of coal-burning stoves (p = 0.001), and in the number of stuffed toys (p = 0.05). There was also a significant post-intervention improvement in the environmental control of aeroallergens in the bedrooms of the children (p = 0.003). Conclusions: The educational intervention applied in this study proved to be an important tool for the target population, improving environmental conditions in the households of children with asthma.

Keywords: Asthma; Primary health care; Family health program; Health education.

Objective: To investigate the usefulness of descriptive terms applied to the sensation of dyspnea (dyspnea descriptors) that were developed in English and translated to Brazilian Portuguese in patients with four distinct clinical conditions that can be accompanied by dyspnea. Methods: We translated, from English to Brazilian Portuguese, a list of 15 dyspnea descriptors reported in a study conducted in the USA. Those 15 descriptors were applied in 50 asthma patients, 50 COPD patients, 30 patients with heart failure, and 50 patients with class II or III obesity. The three best descriptors, as selected by the patients, were studied by cluster analysis. Potential associations between the identified clusters and the four clinical conditions were also investigated. Results: The use of this set of descriptors led to a solution with nine clusters, designated expiração (exhalation), fome de ar (air hunger), sufoco (suffocating), superficial (shallow), rápido (rapid), aperto (tight), falta de ar (shortness of breath), trabalho (work), and inspiração (inhalation). Overlapping of the descriptors was quite common among the patients, regardless of their clinical condition. Asthma, COPD, and heart failure were significantly associated with the inspiração cluster. Heart failure was also associated with the trabalho cluster, whereas obesity was not associated with any of the clusters. Conclusions: In our study sample, the application of dyspnea descriptors translated from English to Portuguese led to the identification of distinct clusters, some of which were similar to those identified in a study conducted in the USA. The translated descriptors were less useful than were those developed in Brazil regarding their ability to generate significant associations among the clinical conditions investigated here.

Keywords: Dyspnea; Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Asthma; Heart failure.

Munchhausen syndrome results from a psychiatric disorder in which patients attempt to demonstrate signs and symptoms of serious organic diseases. In a review of the literature, we found 23 cases of Munchhausen syndrome accompanied by factitious hemoptysis, 2 presenting the same mechanism described herein. We report the case of a 23-year-old male with a recent history of multiple hospital admissions for investigation of bloody sputum, although no conclusive diagnosis had been made. Upon insistent questioning the patient admitted to aspirating his own blood with a syringe, holding it in his mouth and eliminating it in order to simulate hemoptysis. Munchhausen syndrome should be considered in patients presenting hemoptysis of obscure etiology.

Keywords: Munchhausen syndrome. Factitious hemoptysis. Diagnosis