Breathing, Mouth

This study will determine if airway resistance to airflow and pressure, measured by Oscillometry, is associated with abnormal findings on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in subjects who are experiencing shortness of breath.

This study consists of two sub-studies. Study 1 investigates gene expression related to the development of hypertension in Thailand, and Study 2 examines the effectiveness of the 4-7-8 breathing technique in reducing blood pressure in individuals with hypertension.

Pain is a subjective, sensory and emotionally unpleasant experience resulting from real or hidden injuries in tissues. The pain experience is a subjective and unique experience in physiological and psychological terms and is the first negative sensory experience of the patient after the surgical procedure. Thoracotomy is an invasive surgical incision that causes severe postoperative pain due to the negative effect on the ribs, muscles and peripheral nerves. During thoracic surgery, anatomical lung resection is performed through posterolateral thoracotomy. Surgical incision during thoracotomy surgery is the most severe cause of postoperative pain. Epidural analgesia, peripheral nerve block and systematic treatment methods are used in post-thoracotomy pain management. Opioid use is frequently preferred in post-thoracotomy pain management. Although thoracotomy pain can mostly be controlled with opioid analgesics, excessive use of opioids may lead to respiratory suppression, constipation, suppression of cough, nausea, vomiting and many other possible side effects. Ineffective postoperative pain management may lead to postoperative complications such as increased cardiac workload, prolonged pulmonary rehabilitation and delayed wound healing. The use of holistic non-drug pain relief methods is vital in reducing the need for opioid analgesics and the risk of possible side effects in early postoperative pain management.

This research plan aims to first collect data on the oral function and oral hygiene status of the elderly population in the community and to understand the normal model of oral frailty among the older adults in the community. Subsequently, a comparison will be made between the oral status of hospitalized patients and the community-dwelling elderly population. The goal is to verify whether oral odor can be used as an objective biological indicator following intervention.