Introduction:Adverse drug reactions can cause increased morbidity and mortality, and therefore information needs to be studied systematically. Little is known about the adverse drug reactions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease therapy. The goal of this study is to assess the expectedness, seriousness and severity of adverse drug reactions during chronic obstructive pulmonary disease therapy based on their reporting in the national pharmacovigilance system.Methods:This was a prospective, observational, 1-year, real-life study about the pharmacotherapy of a sample of 390 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Prescribed medicines were systematized and national pharmacovigilance databases were searched for reported adverse drug reactions. The expectedness was evaluated through the review of the summary of product characteristics, the seriousness was evaluated by the clinicians based on the life threatening nature of the adverse drug reactions, and the severity was evaluated through Hartwig’s Severity Assessment Scale. Descriptive statistics of the reported adverse drug reactions was performed and the relative risk of developing an adverse drug reaction with all international non-proprietary names included in the analysis was calculated.Results:Results confirm that the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a disease with high appearance of adverse drug reactions, and causes many additional costs to the healthcare system. Unexpected and severe adverse drug reactions are frequent. A total of 4.8% of adverse drug reactions were evaluated as life threatening. Majority of adverse drug reactions are classified in Levels 1 (32.6%), 2 (26.4%) and 3 (19%) according to Hartwig’s Severity Assessment Scale. Approximately 22% of reported adverse drug reactions affect people’s everyday life to a greater extent and require additional therapy which might further increase the risk. The relative risk of developing an adverse drug reaction was highest for novphyllin (relative risk = 0.65), followed by aclidinium bromide (relative risk = 0.09). Both indacaterol and salbutamol are with a relative risk of 0.07.Conclusion:In conclusion, the medicines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cause many serious adverse drug reactions, most of them were unexpected, lacking in the short product characteristics. Appropriate reporting of adverse drug reactions is necessary to decrease the risk of patients and healthcare system.

Sleep-related breathing disorders could be accompanied by or caused by a variety of medical conditions. They are considered to be a significant medical and social problem. Together with excessive daytime sleepiness, patients with obstructive sleep apnea experience neuropsychological symptoms such as anxiety, attention deficits, cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms and other psychological disturbances leading to social adjustment difficulties. Patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea demonstrate a decline in a wide spectrum of cognitive abilities, including memory, attention, psychomotor speed, executive, verbal and visual-spatial skills. The aim of this study is to investigate the cognitive functioning and affective disorders among patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and to examine the frequency and severity of cases in comparison with a control group consisting of healthy volunteers. Our research has shown that there is a relation between sleep apnea and cognitive impairments and affective changes. This relation can be explained by the direct effect of the syndrome on the patient, where the main connecting factor is the severity and the distribution of excessive daytime sleepiness. Along with treatment of the somatic medical condition, it is extremely important that the patient's mental state is treated as well.Trial Registration: 57/2013, Medical University - Sofia, Bulgaria.

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Bulgaria has relatively high percentages of (very) severe COPD patients, resulting in considerable socio-economic burden. High smoking rates, occupational risk factors, air pollution, and a differential health system may be related to this finding. Eastern-European COPD strategies should focus on prevention, risk-factor awareness, and early detection.

BackgroundResistin is an adipocytokine, associated with obesity and inflammation. Its exact role in insulin resistance and diabetes in the general population is still controversial. The relation between resistin plasma levels, insulin resistance and risk of impaired glucose metabolism in OSA patients has not been investigated.Materials and methodsPlasma levels of resistin were measured in 67 patients with OSA and impaired glucose metabolism. 34,7% (23/67) had diabetes; 40% (27/67) patients had impаired glucose tolerance(IGT); 25,3%(17/67) had normal glucose metabolism (NGM). The association between resistin, BMI, obesity, markers of insulin resistance, oxidative stress and sleep study characteristics was analysed. The different groups of patients were compared in regards to glucometabolic parameters and biomarkers of oxidative stress – isoprostanes and insulin resistance – free fatty acids (FFA).ResultsPlasma levels of resistin were higher in patients with diabetes (6,12 ±5,93ng/ml), compared to those with IGT (3,85±2,81ng/ml, p-0,021) and NGM (3,77±3,23, p-0,043). Resistin did not differ between patients with IGT and NGM (p-0,954). In OSA patients with BMI>40 resistin plasma levels correlated neither to the clinical parameters (BMI, IRI, HOMA-I, HbA1C, AHI, desaturation index), nor to the biomarkers of oxidative stress and insulin resistance. Free fatty acids (0,232>0,177mmol/l, p-0,037) were higher in diabetics in comparison to NGM.ConclusionsPlasma resistin levels in OSA patients with BMI>40 are independent of insulin resistance and are not associated with the parameters, characterising the oxidative stress or severity of OSA. Resistin could be used in a multiple panel of clinical and biomarkers to discern patients with diabetes from those with IGT; in OSA patients with BMI >40 resistin together with HbA1C could discern patients with diabetes from those with NGM. In OSA patients with BMI >40 FFA and HbA1C are useful clinical markers in assessing the risk of dysglycaemia among patients with normal and IGT.