YKL-40 (chitinase-3-like-1) has been introduced as a marker of inflammation in asthma. The aim of this study was to determine the role of YKL-40 in asthma and to evaluate the relationship between YKL-40 and asthma severity.In the study, 60 non-smoker asthma patients without additional diseases (aged between 20-60 years, female: 34) were grouped [Group I: Well controlled asthma patients (n: 30),...

This article summarizes the recommendations regarding the management of asthma exacerbations presented in the Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3). The evidence supporting these recommendations can be found in the report itself. All of the recommendations in this article are strong recommendations, unless indicated by the term conditional. Asthma exacerbations consist of acute or subacute episodes of p...

Children with acute asthma exacerbations frequently present to an emergency department with signs of respiratory distress. The most severe episodes are potentially life-threatening. Effective treatment depends on the accurate and rapid assessment of disease severity at presentation. This statement addresses the assessment, management and disposition of paediatric patients with a known diagnosis...

Asthma is a cause of severe morbidity and mortality in the United States. Severe acute asthma accounts for over one million emergency room visits per year (1). The vast majority of patients presenting with acute asthma can be successfully managed with β2-agonist bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and oxygen. Despite maximal medical therapy, it is estimated that 1– 3% of patients with severe asth...

BACKGROUND In tropical Africa the role of microbial agents of acute respiratory infections in acute exacerbations of bronchial asthma remains largely unexplored. However, empirical antibacterial therapy is frequently initiated in moderate to severe cases of acute asthma with symptoms of acute respiratory infection. A study was set up to determine how often acute respiratory infection is associa...

Introduction . Violation of bronchial patency is a particularly urgent problem in pediatric practice, which primarily due to the increase frequency its development and occurrence young children with acute respiratory infections lower tract, lack an unambiguous unified interpretation causal factors formation pathogenetic mechanisms, as well difficulty differential diagnosis pathological conditio...

The knowledge and attitude towards asthma, of parents, of 85 asthmatic children was assessed using a 17 item questionnaire. Results showed that 34.1% believed asthma to be contagious, 48.2% of the parents hesitated in referring to their child's illness as asthma. Other commonly held beliefs were that asthma is a life long illness (35.3%); food items are important precipitating factors for acute...

BACKGROUND This study was designed to test the association of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection with asthma in a multi-racial population, after adjustments for several potential confounding variables. METHODS Antibodies to C pneumoniae were measured by microimmunofluorescence in 123 patients with acute asthma, 1518 control subjects admitted to the same hospital with various non-cardiovascular, n...

OBJECTIVE To examine the merits of the Asthma Therapy Assessment Questionnaire (ATAQ) control index together with prior asthma health-care utilization from administrative data in predicting future acute asthma health-care utilization. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. POPULATION A total of 4,788 adult asthma patients aged 17 to 93 years who completed a baseline evaluation and had at least 6 ...