Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Early Onset Bullous Emphysema Associated With Polysubstance Use, Kelsey Noble, Julia Griffin

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

The burden of COPD in the United States is tremendous. This disease is not only among the leading causes of mortality annually, but also takes a heavy financial toll.¹ Bullous emphysema is a severe variant of COPD. The primary identified risk factor for bullous emphysema is tobacco use; however, the impact of other substances is not clearly delineated.² This case presents a patient diagnosed with severe bullous emphysema at age 33 with substantial disease progression over the course of 12 years associated with much scarcer tobacco use than would be expected but a prominent history of methamphetamine and …

Investigation Of Cumulative Genetic Risk And Cc16 In Adult Asthma And Copd Populations, Kelli C. Gribben

Theses & Dissertations

INVESTIGATION OF CUMULATIVE GENETIC RISK AND CC16 IN ADULT ASTHMA AND COPD POPULATIONS

Kelli C. Gribben, Ph.D.

University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2022

Supervisors: Paraskevi A. Farazi and Tricia D. LeVan, Ph.D.

Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have complex etiologies and lack biological predictors that can be used for primary prevention, early detection, progression, or monitoring. Genetic risk scores (GRS) aggregate genetic effects from GWAS-identified susceptibility variants associated with a trait. GRS may provide opportunities to improve disease prediction to inform public health and clinical interventions. Asthma GRS studies utilizing multi-ethnic populations are scarce and there is a …

Impact Of Dietary Fiber And Omega6/3 Intake On Copd Outcomes In U.S. Adults, Jacey Hain

Capstone Experience

COPD is the 4^th leading cause of death in the United States and is the leading cause of hospitalizations in adults.¹Although there is no cure for COPD, symptoms can be managed to increase the quality of life of those affected by the disease. Dietary omega-3 and -6 as well as fiber intakes have been noted as mitigating the burden of disease through their anti-inflammatory properties. We set out to look at the synergistic effect of both omega-3,-6, -6:-3 ratio and fiber on COPD, lung function and respiratory morbidities. We used data from the National Heath and Nutritional …

Using Syndromic Surveillance To Assess The Impact Of Environmental Factors On Asthma- And Copd- Related Ed Visits In Douglas County, Nebraska, Sandra Gonzalez-Ramirez, Anne Mardis O'Keefe, Tricia D. Levan, Lynette Smith

Capstone Experience

Background: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic diseases associated with health disparities in Douglas County, Nebraska and in the United States. Currently there is a lack of information describing the impact of environmental factors in Nebraska on the burden of emergency department (ED) visits or hospitalizations related to these chronic respiratory (CR) diseases. The aim of this study was to determine if there is an association between the numbers of seasonal viral respiratory (SVR)- related ED visits, outdoor air pollutants, aeroallergens, or meteorological factors on the number of CR- related ED visits in Douglas County, Nebraska.

Methods: …

Nutrition Status In Hospitalized Patients With Copd On Non-Invasive Ventilation, Sara M. Kvien Jensen

Theses & Dissertations

Background: Nutrition is an important aspect of critically ill hospitalized patient care but the lack of consistent nutritional guidelines for sub-critically ill patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) requiring non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) may be putting vulnerable patients at risk. Hand grip strength measurements are an emerging metric for nutritional status.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine if hospitalized patients with COPD on NPPV show a difference in handgrip strength as a marker of nutritional status than those hospitalized patients with COPD not requiring NPPV.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study …

Interaction Of Cd14 Haplotypes And Soluble Cd14 On Pulmonary Function In Agricultural Workers., Tricia D. Levan, Lynette M. Smith, Art J. Heires, Ted R. Mikuls, Jane L. Meza, Lisa A. Weissenburger-Moser, Debra J. Romberger

Journal Articles: Internal Medicine

BACKGROUND: Agricultural environments are contaminated with organic dusts containing bacterial components. Chronic inhalation of organic dusts is implicated in respiratory diseases. CD14 is a critical receptor for gram-negative lipopolysaccharide; however, its association with respiratory disease among agricultural workers is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine if serum soluble CD14 (sCD14) levels are associated with lung function among agricultural workers and if this association is modified by genetic variants in CD14.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 584 veterans with >2 years of farming experience and that were between the ages of 40 and 80 years. Participants underwent spirometry …