FRACTIONAL UPTAKE (CO) AS AN INDICATOR OF PCP PNEUMONIA

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO TEST A NEW PROTOTYPE, PORTABLE CARBON MONOXIDE FRACTIONAL UPTAKE (FU(CO)) MONITOR CONCEPT IN A CLINICAL ENVIRONMENT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MONITOR IS TO PROVIDE FOR THE EARLY DETECTION OF PNEUMOCYSTIS CARINII PNEUMONIA (PCP) IN A POPULATION OF AIDSPATIENTS. IN PRINCIPLE, A DETECTABLE DECLINE OF FU(CO) SHOULD ACCOMPANY THE ONSET OF PCP AND SHOULD CLEARLY INDICATE, EARLY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS MAJOR KILLER, THAT MEDICAL ATTENTION MUST BE SOUGHT. IT HAS BEEN CLEARLY INDICATED THAT THE BEST PROTECTION AGAINST THIS NUMBER ONECAUSE OF DEATH IN AIDS PATIENTS IS EARLY DETECTION. DURING PHASE I, WE WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT FU(CO) MEASUREMENTS ARE REPRODUCIBLE AND DETERMINE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE EFFECT OF PSYSIOLOGICALPARAMETERS (SUCH AS TIDAL VOLUME) ON THE FU(CO) MEASUREMENT.