{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.015735641227380016, 'fraction_numerical': 0.01730920535011802, 'mean_word_length': 5.144927536231884, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
British thoracic society winter meeting 1999

Non-invasive ventilation and sleep disordered breathing At the BTS meeting in 1998, Paul Plant et al presented a paper demonstrating that noninvasive ventilation (NIV) may be used eVectively in a variety of hospital settings for the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). At the 1999 meeting the cost eVectiveness data for this study were presented and it was estimated that a saving of £2829 per patient might be anticipated by a Trust investing in NIV. In addition, there was some evidence of a survival advantage at 12 months in favour of NIV. The subject of sleep disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease, and the implications for funding sleep services, formed the basis of a lively debate at the 1997 BTS meeting. This year Davies et al presented evidence that patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) have higher blood pressure than controls, not only at night but also during the day, though a parallel study found no evidence of an increased prevalence of early cerebrovascular disease. Further evidence of the benefits of treating OSA with nasal continuous positive airway pressure was presented in a trial demonstrating improvements in simulated driving tests.