Metered inhalers using chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellents have been gradually replaced by new devices that use hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs) as their propellents, which are less harmful to the environment. This reformulation led to a substantial improvement of the previous technologies applied to inhalation devices and of the physical characteristics of drugs delivered. In particular, inhaled cor...

Hydrofluoroalkane-134a (HFA) beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) extrafine aerosol is a pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMD1) available for the treatment of asthma. Unlike most pMDIs, HFA-BDP is a solution, rather than a suspension, of BDP in HFA propellant. This reforrnulation, combined with improvements in inhaler technology, results in the production of aerosol particles of smaller mean mass...

BACKGROUND To evaluate whether hydrofluoroalkane-beclomethasone dipropionate (HFA-BDP) controls eosinophilic inflammation, including that in the distal airways, more effectively than fluticasone propionate (FP) Diskus. METHODS Fifty patients with well-controlled mild to moderate persistent asthma using FP for more than 6 months were randomly assigned to FP and HFA-BDP groups, and the treatmen...

BACKGROUND Hydrofluoroalkane-134a (HFA) has been shown to be a safe replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as a pharmaceutical propellant, with the advantage that it has no ozone-depleting potential. This is the first report of the pharmacokinetics of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) delivered from a pressurized solution formulation using an HFA propellant system (HFA-BDP) in Japanese chil...

S tudies of the effective delivery of pharmaceutical inhalation aerosols have hinged on their particlesize characteristics and the mass, or dose, of drug delivered to the lung. Preparation and delivery of aerosols have been approached using these criteria with the intention of optimizing lung deposition. Aerosol particles and droplets exhibit a range of sizes which constitute their distribution...

A new hydrofluoroalkane-beclomethasone dipropionate (HFA-BDP) aerosol markedly increases drug delivery to the airways. Therefore, even low doses of HFA-BDP should be effective, and the present study assesses this. A randomised, double-blind, crossover study was used to compare the effect of placebo, HFA-BDP 50 microg or 100 microg given q.d. (QVAR(TM) Autohaler(TM); 3M Pharmaceuticals, St. Paul...

A 38-year-old man presented to a rural hospital in Northwest Cameroon with a one-month history of dyspnea that worsened upon exertion. He reported occasional cough, which was nonproductive. Review of systems revealed a fall in weight from 81 kg to 71 kg over the last year, but no other problems were noted. The patient initially sought care at a health center in Douala (10 hours away by public t...

A decade ago several research studies highlighted the underdiagnosis of asthma, particularly in children 1–3 but also in the elderly, 4 5 and most general practitioners felt an increased pressure on them to diagnose this common chronic respiratory disorder. It was implied that asthma should be considered whenever a patient presented with a persistent cough and that far more people " deserved " ...

David Ponka, MD, is an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa. He has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières in Chad, near the Sudan border. ittle Seïd is going home today, but he almost didn't make it. He had seemed healthy at birth; his parents were thrilled, having lost their three other young children. But he had the misfortune to be born here, in the region where ...