Though asthma cannot be cured, it can be effectively controlled with existing treatments. Management strategies for acute and chronic asthma often vary substantially within and among medical facilities and practices, often driven by physician preference and familiarity rather than by data. The use of carefully designed care paths can improve quality of care and decrease management costs of acut...

The objectives of the study were to assess the magnitude of the effect of the leukotriene receptor antagonist, zafirlukast, against cold air-induced bronchoconstriction following the first dose and to assess magnitude and duration after 5 days of dosing. Nineteen patients with asthma were included. In a randomized cross-over design, either zafirlukast 20 mg or 80 mg b.d. or placebo were given o...

A significant proportion of patients with chronic urticaria respond inadequately to first line treatment with antihistamines. Leukotreine receptor antagonists (LTRA) are also used for chronic urticaria, although firm recommendations on their use are lacking. We performed a systematic review of randomised trials to determine the role of LTRA in treatment of chronic urticaria. A search of PUBMED,...

PURPOSE The presence of leukotriene D4 receptors in human detrusor myocytes and increased urinary leukotriene E4 in patients with interstitial cystitis and detrusor mastocytosis imply a role for cysteinyl containing leukotrienes as proinflammatory mediators in this disease. We examined the efficacy of the cysteinyl leukotriene 1 receptor antagonist montelukast for treating patients with interst...

The potential for leukotrienes as mediators to target in the development of novel therapies for diseases such as COPD is underscored by their inflammatory behavior and the capacity of leukotriene receptor antagonists and synthesis inhibitors to reduce inflammatory responses when administered in vivo. Airway neutrophilia in COPD patients is believed to be a contributing source of inflammation an...

Antileukotriene drugs are new therapeutic agents that have recently been approved for the treatment of asthma. Several cases of eosinophilic conditions including ChurgStrauss syndrome have been reported to be associated with zafirlukast, a cysteinyl leukotriene type 1 receptor antagonist. So far no other leukotriene modifier has been associated with the syndrome. The case history is presented o...

Severe asthma with fungal sensitisation (SAFS) is characterized by poor symptoms control and frequent hospital admissions for exacerbations despite treatment with high dose inhaled steroids, long-acting beta-2 agonists and leukotriene receptor antagonists. Treatment with oral steroids is usually necessary and courses of antifungal therapy may improve asthma symptoms. We report a case refractory...

DescriPtion oF the eviDence collection methoD A critical analysis of articles from the MEDLINE database was carried out using the following keywords (MeSH terms): asthma, asthma/epidemiology, asthma/therapy, oxygen therapy, prednisone, prednisolone, dexamethasone, mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, adrenal cortex hormones, bronchodilators, albuterol, terbutaline, fenoterol, salmeterol, formot...

Inhaled short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs) are most effective in preventing exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, followed by inhaled mast cell stabilizers and anticholinergic agents (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, multiple randomized control trials [RCTs]). Less evidence supports the use of leukotriene antagonists and inhaled corticosteroids, either individually or in combination (SOR: B...