双语新闻：不做大型手术也能治愈肺病

2014-05-06 13:45:11来源：可可英语

　　玛丽·摩根(Mary Morgan)是住在俄亥俄州帕尔马(Parma, Ohio) 的一名护士。七年前，她被确诊为肺气肿，肺气肿是慢性阻塞性肺疾病的一种表现形式。即便如此，她还是继续抽了好几年烟。因为她说这个病“当时并没有太困扰我”。两年后，55岁的摩根患上了肺炎，还不得不打911急救电话，因为那时她已无法呼吸。虽然她已戒了烟，但是仍需要一直吸氧。她还经常喘气，讲话时一次也说不了几个词。摩根说：“已经病到这个地步了，如此痛苦煎熬，都不想再活下去了。”

　　After completing a pulmonary rehabilitation program, Ms. Morgan was accepted into the coils trial at the Cleveland Clinic last December. Dr. Mehta and another pulmonologist placed 12 of the small devices in her right lower lung. She was discharged from the hospital after just one night and says she felt improvements almost immediately. Tests a month later showed her breathing had improved by 30%. She is still on supplementary oxygen and is scheduled to have additional coils inserted in her left lung later this month.

　　摩根在完成了一次肺康复治疗后，于去年12月份获准在克利夫兰诊所接受线圈试验治疗。梅塔医生及另一位肺科专家在她的右肺下部植入了12个小线圈。她术后仅在医院待了一晚便出了院，还称自己几乎是马上就感觉好多了。一个月后的测试显示，她的呼吸状况改善了30%。她仍在补充吸氧并计划本月晚些时候再在左肺植入另外一些线圈。

　　COPD includes two main conditions, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and most patients have elements of both. Emphysema, as it advances, destroys the air sacs, or alveoli, that exchange air between the lungs and surrounding tissue and bloodstream. Diseased portions of the lung overinflate, become inelastic and trap air. Meanwhile, the expanded sacs push against the lung's healthier areas. Patients may feel as if they are suffocating. Medications may cease to work.

　　慢性阻塞性肺疾病包括两种主要的病症，肺气肿和慢性支气管炎，而大多数患者是两者兼具。随着肺气肿的病情加重，它会破坏气?，或称为肺泡——它们负责交换肺部及周遭组织与血流间的空气。肺的病变部位将会过度膨胀、变得没有弹性并滞留空气。于此同时，扩张的气囊也会挤压肺部相对健康的部位。患者可能会感到窒息，而药物治疗则可能失效。

　　More severe cases of COPD affect an estimated three to four million people in the U.S. Dr. Mehta estimates as many as one million may be candidates for some form of lung volume reduction through surgery or the new less-invasive coil procedure. The surgery requires a large incision, or several small ones, in the chest to excise diseased tissue. The aim is to allow the patient to breathe easier with the remaining healthier portion of the lungs.

　　病情更严重的慢性阻塞性肺疾病在美国估计影响到了三、四百万人。梅塔医生预计，多达一百万人可能需要通过手术进行某种形式的肺减容或新型的低创伤线圈疗法。这类手术需要在胸部开一个大切口或几个小切口以切除病变组织。其目的是为了能让病人用余下的、肺上相对健康的部位更容易地呼吸。

　　In a large study a decade ago, called the National Emphysema Treatment Trial, the surgery didn't show an overall survival advantage over medical management. It did show an advantage in patients whose disease was worse in upper lobes of the lungs and whose exercise capacity was low. Still, the procedure is little used. Complication rates are high. Relatively few centers in the country offer the procedure.

　　10年前进行的一项名为“全国肺气肿治疗试验”(National Emphysema Treatment Trial) 的大型研究显示，与药物治疗相比，手术并未显现出会给病患在总体上带来更高的存活率。该研究倒是表明，在有些患者身上，手术疗法更具优势——这些患者的上肺叶病变更严重，他们的运动能力也差。即便如此，这种治疗手段还是用得少之又少。其并发症的患病率也高。而在美国，提供这种疗法的医疗中心也相对较少。

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