R.A.L.E. Reference Collection updated November 2007 1. Beck, R., N. Elias, S. Shoval, N. Tov, G. Talmon, S. Godfrey, and L. Bentur. 2007. Computerized acoustic assessment of treatment efficacy of nebulized epinephrine and albuterol in RSV bronchiolitis. BMC.Pediatr. 7:22.:22. Abstract: AIM: We evaluated the use of computerized quantification of wheezing and crackles compared to a clinical score in assessing the effect of inhaled albuterol or inhaled epinephrine in infants with RSV bronchiolitis. METHODS: Computerized lung sounds analysis with quantification of wheezing and crackles and a clinical score were used during a double blind, randomized, controlled nebulized treatment pilot study. Infants were randomized to receive a single dose of 1 mgr nebulized l-epinephrine or 2.5 mgr nebulized albuterol. Computerized quantification of wheezing and crackles (PulmoTrack) and a clinical score were performed prior to, 10 minutes post and 30 minutes post treatment. Results were analyzed with Student's t-test for independent samples, Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: 15 children received albuterol, 12 received epinephrine. The groups were identical at baseline. Satisfactory lung sounds recording and analysis was achieved in all subjects. There was no significant change in objective quantification of wheezes and crackles or in the total clinical scores either within the groups or between the groups. There was also no difference in oxygen saturation and respiratory distress. CONCLUSION: Computerized lung sound analysis is feasible in young infants with RSV bronchiolitis and provides a non-invasive, quantitative measure of wheezing and crackles in these infants 2. Beeton, R. J., I. Wells, P. Ebden, H. B. Whittet, and J. Clarke. 2007. Snore site discrimination using statistical moments of free field snoring sounds recorded during sleep nasendoscopy. Physiol Meas. 28:1225-1236. Abstract: The non-invasive measurement of free field snoring sounds to estimate the site of snoring is an important development in the diagnosis, treatment and management of sleep-related breathing disorders. We investigated characteristics of the probability density function by testing the sensitivity of the statistical moments to amplitude patterns in the snoring acoustic signal. Snoring sounds from 15 patients were recorded whilst performing sleep (under anaesthetic) nasendoscopy evaluation. We demonstrated, using a fuzzy 2-means clustering method, that a combination of the statistical dimensionless moment coefficients of skewness and kurtosis could discriminate between pure palatal and non-palatal snoring subject groups 3. Branco, A., S. M. Fekete, L. M. Rugolo, and M. I. Rehder. 2007. The newborn pain cry: descriptive acoustic spectrographic analysis. Int.J Pediatr.Otorhinolaryngol. 71:539-546. Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Study the characteristics of pain vocal emission of newborns during venepuncture through acoustic analysis and relate it to NIPS pain scale and some variables of the newborns. METHODS: Emissions of 111 healthy term newborns were recorded, whose lifetime varied from 24 to 72 h. The acoustic analysis was realized with GRAM 5.7 software verifying the occurrence of tense strangled voice quality, sounds, concentration of acoustic energy, breaks, double harmonic breaks and frequency instability, type of phonation, vocal attack and cough. The NIPS scale was realized during venepuncture and descriptive statistical analysis and correlation through Spearman test. RESULTS: Hundred percent of the emissions had guttural sounds, vowels, hard vocal attack, frequency, breaks, double harmonic breaks and tense strangled voice quality; 34.2% higher fundamental frequency; 62.2% periods of emission absence and 100% occurrence of tracing instability, concentration of acoustic energy, inspiratory and expiratory phonation. The cough occurred in 14.4%. The signs of vocal tract constriction associated with all the parameters. There was a negative correlation between the higher fundamental frequencies and the weight of newborns and positive correlation between cough and NIPS score. CONCLUSIONS: The newborn pain emission is tense and strident, the modifications of frequency and spectrographic tracing and the presence of sounds show laryngeal and vocal tract participation. The smaller the newborn weight, the bigger the presence of higher fundamental frequency with tense strangled voice quality and the bigger the NIPS score, the more frequent the cough. Such characteristics make pain crying peculiar, helping in the evaluation of pain during a procedure 4. Brietzke, S. E. and E. A. Mair. 2007. Acoustical analysis of pediatric snoring: what can we learn? Otolaryngol.Head Neck Surg. 136:644-648. Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Evaluate a database of pediatric patients who underwent snoring acoustical analysis for associations between snoring measurements, demographics, and obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) severity. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A database of pediatric patients who underwent home testing with a polysomnogram device (SNAP Test, Glenview, IL) that includes acoustical snoring analysis was reviewed. RESULTS: Four hundred fifty-six patients were included (mean age, 6.87 years). Four hundred twenty-nine (94.1%) patients had measurable snoring. Snoring index (events/hr) (r = 0.2073; P < 0.0001) and maximal loudness (dB) (r = 0.2218; P < 0.0001) were directly proportional to the apnea/hypopnea index. Among patients without OSAHS (apnea index <1), increasing snoring index (r = -0.2102; P < 0.0001) and volume (P < 0.005 ANOVA) were associated with increasing oximetry desaturation events. CONCLUSION: The majority of children evaluated had objective snoring. Increasing snoring index and loudness are associated with increased severity of OSAHS. In the absence of OSAHS, increasing snoring is associated with oxygen desaturations. SIGNIFICANCE: Pediatric snoring is objectively related to OSAHS severity 5. Caffier, P. P., J. C. Berl, A. Muggli, A. Reinhardt, A. Jakob, M. Moser, I. Fietze, H. Scherer, and M. Holzl. 2007. Snoring noise pollution--the need for objective quantification of annoyance, regulatory guidelines and mandatory therapy for snoring. Physiol Meas. 28:25-40. Abstract: Habitual snoring without episodes of apnea or hypoventilation and without respiratory related arousals is considered to be annoying and without any need for treatment. However, studies seem to suggest an enormous psychosocial impact of annoyance for the bed partner. Apart from subjective questionnaires there still exists no generally accepted mode of measurement that can describe snoring objectively. We therefore adapted methods developed for environmental medicine and established a new snore score using psycho-acoustic parameters. For quantification of snoring noise we conducted nocturnal measurements in 19 habitual snorers. Free-field snore sounds were acquired with two low-cost non-contact microphones and transferred to a PC (sampling frequency 11 kHz). The data were recorded, analysed and stored automatically using a MATLAB script. Following the analysis of sound characteristics and levels, the score was computed from relevant parameters containing the rating level (L(R)), maximum level, two percentile levels for frequent maxima (L(5)S; L(1)) and snoring time. The determined values substantially exceeded the prescribed limits defined by WHO noise guidelines, and mainly affected the equivalent continuous sound exposure level, rating level and the immission standard values of brief noise peaks, whose maximum was exceeded by up to 32 dB(A). The Berlin snore score illustrated the objective acoustic annoyance on a scale from 0 to 100. It allows inter-individual comparison and objectifies the need for therapy. The clinical applicability of evaluating the reduction of snoring after surgical therapy is discussed exemplarily. The presented measuring method was found to be suitable for quantifying snoring noise and can be easily integrated into existing polysomnographic applications. In the case of habitual snoring with objective evidence of psychosocially disturbing acoustic annoyance, health fund providers should assume the costs of mandatory medical therapy 6. Charleston-Villalobos, S., R. Gonzalez-Camarena, G. Chi-Lem, and T. jama-Corrales. 2007. Crackle sounds analysis by empirical mode decomposition. Nonlinear and nonstationary signal analysis for distinction of crackles in lung sounds. IEEE Eng Med Biol Mag. 26:40-47. 7. Dellinger, R. P., S. Jean, I. Cinel, C. Tay, S. Rajanala, Y. A. Glickman, and J. E. Parrillo. 2007. Regional distribution of acoustic-based lung vibration as a function of mechanical ventilation mode. Crit Care. 11:R26. Abstract: INTRODUCTION: There are several ventilator modes that are used for maintenance mechanical ventilation but no conclusive evidence that one mode of ventilation is better than another. Vibration response imaging is a novel bedside imaging technique that displays vibration energy of lung sounds generated during the respiratory cycle as a real-time structural and functional image of the respiration process. In this study, we objectively evaluated the differences in regional lung vibration during different modes of mechanical ventilation by means of this new technology. METHODS: Vibration response imaging was performed on 38 patients on assist volume control, assist pressure control, and pressure support modes of mechanical ventilation with constant tidal volumes. Images and vibration intensities of three lung regions at maximal inspiration