We report the sudden death of a 16 yr old boy with asthma. At presentation, the patient had symptoms of active asthma, mild bronchoconstriction, severe airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, and increased variability of peak expiratory flow records. After the patient was placed on inhaled beclomethasone (1 mg b.i.d preceded by inhaled fenoterol 0.4 mg b.i.d) he rapidly felt better, lung fu...

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the lungs characterized by episodic and reversible symptoms of acute airflow obstruction (narrowing of the airways that makes it difficult to breath) (National Institutes of Health). People with asthma can suffer from symptoms ranging from wheezing, cough and a sensation of tightness in the chest, to a severe inability to expel air from the lungs, su...

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by episodic and reversible symptoms of acute airflow obstruction (narrowing of the airways that makes it difficult to breathe). [1] People with asthma can suffer from symptoms ranging from wheezing, cough and a sensation of tightness in the chest, to a severe inability to expel air from the lungs, suffocation and death. Alth...

OBJECTIVE To investigate community pharmacists' proposed actions in hypothetical medical emergency situations in South-East Queensland, Australia. METHOD A survey was posted to 151 Gold Coast and Toowoomba community pharmacies in October 2009. Pharmacists were asked to document their opinions regarding the pharmacist's role in medical emergencies and to respond to statements associated with t...

Background Emphysema is a distinct feature for classifying COPD, and smoking history (≥10 pack-years) is one of several newly proposed criteria for asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). We studied whether or not a smoking history (≥10 pack-years) and emphysema are useful markers for classifying ACO and differentiating it from asthma with chronic airflow obstruction (CAO). Methods We retrospectively stud...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Yiqi Pingchuan Granule in treating acute attack of asthma due to qi deficiency and cold syndrome. METHODS A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 80 patients with an acute attack of asthma were included. They were allocated into two groups randomly in a ratio of three to one. Sixty patients in the treatment group received Yiqi P...

Fifty-two patients admitted to hospital with acute severe asthma took part in a prospective study investigating the rate and pattern of their subsequent recovery. Clinical assessment of the severity of the acute attack on admission (according to pulse rate, degree of pulsus paradoxus, and peak expiratory flow rate) did not reliably predict the results of arterial blood gas analysis. Subjects we...