BACKGROUND Patients who visit the emergency department (ED) because of asthma frequently have a relapse. While the use of inhaled corticosteroids has been demonstrated to improve asthma symptoms and lung function, it is not clear whether their use after discharge from the ED reduces asthma relapse rates. OBJECTIVE To determine whether inhaled corticosteroid therapy reduces ED asthma relapse r...

Exacerbations of asthma during pregnancy represent a significant clinical problem and may be related to poor pregnancy outcomes. A systematic review of the literature was conducted for publications related to exacerbations during pregnancy. Four studies with a control group (no asthma) and two groups of women with asthma (exacerbation, no exacerbation) were included in metaanalyses using fixed ...

Corticosteroid hypersensitivity is a rare, but troublesome condition often mimicking the symptoms of the underlying disease and therefore probably underdiagnosed. Our objective is to underline the importance of increased awareness of corticosteroid hypersensitivity and of determining the tolerability to other corticosteroid preparations and thus identify a safe treatment alternative. We report ...

Symbicort SMART(R) (Symbicort Maintenance and Reliever Therapy) represents a new and unique way of treating patients with moderate-to-severe asthma, ie, those patients who require combination treatment with an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting inhaled beta(2)-agonist. Symbicort SMART enables patients to use only one inhaler, the budesonide-formoterol combination inhaler, for both mainten...

Glycine allele at codon 16 has previously been associated with the increase in asthma severity, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and also the increase in inhaled corticosteroid dependence. This study was designed to evaluate the genetic alleles in mild asthma.Thirty-four patients with diagnosis of mild asthma (FEV1 ≥ 80%, positive methacholine test) and body mass index (BMI ≤ 30 Kg/m2) were includ...

dren with asthma, the effect of endotoxin exposure on diseasemorbidity is influenced by levels of exposure to indoor nicotine and NO2. Airborne endotoxin seems to be protective against acute asthma visits and oral corticosteroid bursts in the setting of very low or no air nicotine exposure, whereas it is associated with worse asthma morbidity in the setting of high indoor air nicotine exposure....

BACKGROUND Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is an allergic pulmonary disease comprising a complex hypersensitivity reaction to Aspergillus fumigatus. Clinical features of ABPA are wheezing, mucoid impaction, and pulmonary infiltrates. Oral corticosteroids and anti-fungal agents are standard therapy for ABPA, but long-term use of systemic corticosteroids often causes serious side e...

OBJECTIVES We describe the system of asthma care in Hartford, CT, an urban, minority community. METHODS The health field concept was used to organize factors influencing asthma prevalence and severity. Data were obtained from national, state, and municipal reports, and from surveys of children in Hartford seeking medical care in an asthma program called Easy Breathing. RESULTS Between June ...

Churg-Strauss syndrome is an eosinophil-associated, small vessel granulomatous vasculitis, characterized by late onset asthma, upper airways disease, eosinophilia, and clinical manifestations of systemic vasculitis. Several cases of Churg-Strauss syndrome have been recognized in patients treated with cysteinyl leukotriene-receptor antagonists and weaned off systemic corticosteroids. These cases...

BACKGROUND Although many patients who experience chest pain or pressure consult their physicians, unfortunately a large number of them do not, and consequently they remain undiagnosed and untreated. Chest pain, in a subset of these patients, may be relieved with a bronchodilator or other asthma drugs. METHODS This retrospective study included twenty cases of chest pain that were relieved with...