Effect of Coughing on Oxygenation in the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit
Adverse Effect of Unspecified General AnestheticsGeneral anaesthesia causes small areas of lung to collapse (referred to as atelectasis) and many strategies are used to prevent or reverse this, but these strategies only temporarily improve lung function and do not persist into the post anaesthesia care unit (PACU) where atelectasis may still be present. One possible explanation for this is that coughing occurring at the end of the anaesthesic may cause atelectasis to occur. Over 70% of patients cough when their breathing tube is removed as they emerge from the anaesthetic, and our hypothesis is that the presence of the breathing tube prevents a normal cough from occurring and may worsen atelectasis. This study will use alveolar-arterial oxygen difference (AaDO2)as a measure of how well the lungs are oxygenating the blood. This will be measured 30 minutes before the end of the anaesthetic as a control measure of the patient's lung function, and again 60 minutes after the patient has woken up, and the change compared with the amount of coughing observed as the patient emerges from the anaesthetic.
Novel Endpoints in Cough Challenge Testing
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseAsthma3 moreThe sensitivity of a person's cough reflex can be measured by getting them to breathe in (inhale) irritant chemicals. There are different methods by which subjects are asked to inhale these chemicals, either by taking one deep breath in, or by asking them to just continue to take a number of breaths. The purpose of this clinical research study is to see if the coughing responses are different in healthy people and people with respiratory problems that make them cough when they are given these chemicals in these two methods.
A Cross-sectional Study to Measure Cough in Severe Asthma
AsthmaCoughThis study aims to characterise cough in severe asthma through an observational cross-sectional analysis of patients stratified by inflammatory biomarker profile using a number of subjective and objective cough measurement tools.
Impact of Gastroesophageal Reflux and Aspiration on Airway Inflammation and Microbiome in Children...
Chronic Cough (CC)Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER)Using an active cohort of children in whom Airway and gastrointestinal endoscopy will be performed, investigators will conduct a chart review to obtain relevant clinical data and the investigators will use an aliquot of airway sample obtained during the clinically indicated bronchoscopy for microbiome analysis. A case-control study design will be used to study whether subjects with CC with GER have a distinct lung microbiome and increased inflammation as compared with subjects with CC without GER and to determine whether the microbiome and degree of inflammation is related to the type of GER (acidic versus nonacidic).
Assessment of Voluntary and Reflex Cough in Patients With ALS
ALSCoughThis study aims to assess the presence and the intensity of voluntary and cough reflex in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), comparing the results with the healthy control group. The assessment of the cough is fundamental to verify the mechanism of airways protection which is particularly compromised in ALS patients. Objective parameters of voluntary and reflex cough would be measured by the spirometer. The reflex of cough would be elicited by a solution of citric acid through an ultrasonic nebulizer.
Cough Sensitivity and Taste Preferences
SmokingThis single-site, within-subject, experimental study is designed to test the hypothesis children who live in a household in which one or both of their parent smoke will exhibit a higher cough threshold and will prefer more intense sweet tastes than children who live in a household where neither parent smokes. Subjects will include at least 50 racially and ethnically diverse, healthy children aged 10 to 17 years (a critical time for experimenting with tobacco) and a parent. The sample will comprise two groups: Non-Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Exposed (neither the child nor parents has ever smoked or been exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the home), and ETS-Exposed (the parent has smoked at least 3 cigarettes per day for at least five years in the home, with the child living in the home continuously). Cough sensitivity will be measured using a standard single-inhalation challenge, a test of the minimum concentration of capsaicin (the spicy chemical in hot peppers) needed to elicit cough. Sweet taste preferences will be measured using a forced-choice paired comparison method of liquids which differ in sucrose content. Measures of breath carbon monoxide will validate the smoking status of parents and their adolescent children. The key comparison will be between Non-ETS Exposed and ETS-Exposed children, with the difference between smoking and non-smoking parents as a positive control. Because smoking and non-smoking families may differ in ways besides tobacco exposure, the investigators will obtain health histories (with a focus on respiratory illness), smoking histories, measures of body weight, diet, and responses to personality tests (including susceptibility to addiction). The investigators will also obtain genomic DNA from saliva samples. Genes for chemosensory receptors that are part of the cough reflex pathway and genotype may account for aspects of cough sensitivity.
Cough Monitoring Study
CoughRefluxThe aim of the study is to establish the accuracy of a new device designed specifically to record and detect cough episodes. Cough is an important defense mechanism of the respiratory tract. The presence of chronic cough may indicate the presence of underlying diseases, including reflux. Despite the increased number of patients suffering from cough in the ENT and GI practice, to date, there has been no method/device to objectively assess the frequency of cough episodes in a given patient. PULMOTRACK-CC, manufactured by KarmelSonix (Haifa, Israel), has recently introduced an innovative device that is able to record cough episodes and then automatically detect and count them with the help of a specific software program. This study will assess the accuracy of this novel cough monitoring and counting technology and validate potential clinical use in patients with chronic cough.
ATP and Capsaicin Cough Provocation Test in Chronic Cough and Bronchiectasis
Chronic CoughBronchiectasisThis is a randomized, cross-over, single-blind trial. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to undergo either capsaicin or adenosine triphosphate (ATP) cough provocation test, followed by a washout period of 2 to 14 days. Participants will be crossed-over to undergo another cough provocation test. Patient would be under observation in the out-patient clinics for ~2 hours following the cough provocation tests in case of severe adverse events.
Cough Count Validation
Chronic CoughPeople with respiratory infection, asthmatic patients and cystic fibrosis (CF) patients suffer from a multitude of pathologies of airways and are often inflicted with chronic cough. Treatment of cough in these patients consists of many types of expectorants, cough suppressors, secretion modifiers, inhaled bronchodilators etc. In addition, chest physical therapy (PT) is often prescribed as part of the treatment regime. The assessment of coughing is currently subjective and based on the symptoms qualitative description as expressed by the patient or parent. Quantitative and objective methods for cough assessment are not available beyond the investigative laboratory and are unique to the specific investigator.
Sputum and Plasma Levels of Nociceptin and Substance P in Patients With Asthma, COPD and Chronic...
AsthmaCOPD1 moreThe aims of this study are to investigate the association between sputum and plasma levels of nociceptin and substance P with cough severity and airway hyperreactivity in patients with asthma, COPD and chronic cough.