Search

Recognition that about half of asthma deaths might be preventable if recommended guidelines are followed suggests that better implementation of established management strategies is needed. However, to achieve a further substantive reduction in asthma mortality, novel strategies will also be required. It is well established that asthma is a disease of chronic inflammation, with episodes of worsening inflammation associated with increased symptoms and/or exacerbations; however, current guidelines paradoxically recommend that initial treatment is only symptomatic, rather than directed at the underlying inflammatory mechanism. The "Treat to target" (TTT) approach has become a popular concept in the medical management of several common chronic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. For example, as part of a TTT approach, rheumatologists recommend methotrexate for RA with onset within 6 months. Applying the TTT approach to asthma, the primary target could be clinical remission and the primary goals as follows: eliminate symptoms and exacerbation risk; prevent airway remodeling; and normalize lung function. To construct a TTT algorithm for chronic asthma, the proposal is to eradicate short-acting β2-agonists (SABA) at all asthma severity levels and replace SABA with "Anti-Inflammatory Reliever Therapy" (AIR), using inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)/SABA or ICS/formoterol. For individuals with equal to or less than 12 months' history of symptoms, fewer than two symptoms per month, no exacerbations in the last 12 months and normal lung function, the recommendation is early initiation of ICS/SABA or ICS/formoterol as AIR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Childhood asthma is a substantial health burden in Thailand. Due to a lack of pediatric respiratory specialists (pediatric pulmonologists and allergists; RS), most Thai children are cared for by general pediatricians (pediatric primary care providers (PCP)). Objectives:We investigated whether current practices of Thai pediatricians complied with asthma guidelines and compared practices (diagnosis and treatments) provided by PCP and RS. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using electronic surveys including four case scenarios of different asthma phenotypes distributed to Thai pediatricians. Asthma diagnosis andmanagement were evaluated for compliance with standard guidelines. The practices of PCP and RS were compared. Results: From 800 surveys distributed, there were 405 respondents (51%).Most respondents (81%)were PCP, who preferred to use clinical diagnosis rather than laboratory investigations to diagnose asthma. For acute asthmatic attacks, 58% of the pediatricians prescribed a systemic corticosteroid. For uncontrolled asthma, 89% of the pediatricians prescribed at least one controller. For exercise-induced bronchospasm, 55% of the pediatricians chose an inhaled bronchodilator, while 38% chose a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA). For virusinduced wheeze, 40% of the respondents chose an LTRA, while 15% chose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). PCP prescribed more oral bronchodilators (31% vs. 18%, p = 0.02), antibiotics (20% vs. 6%, p < 0.001), and antihistamines (13% vs. 0%, p = 0.02) than RS for the management of an acute asthmatic attack. Conclusions: Most of the Thai pediatrician's practices toward diagnosis and treatment of acute asthmatic attack and uncontrolled asthma conform to the guidelines. PCP prescribed more oral bronchodilators, antibiotics, and antihistamines than RS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this review is to explore how current research measures the effectiveness of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in smokers with asthma.Data sources: PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases were searched for combinations of terms relating to asthma, tobacco use and ICS effectiveness.Study selections: The search was limited to articles published between 2004 and 2015, in English language. Studies met inclusion criteria if reporting the use of guideline-based asthma control indicators to measure the therapeutic effects of ICS or ICS combination therapies. This review did not exclude articles based on study design. Data were extracted and summarized to describe how indicators were measured across studies in order to characterize and describe the effects of ICS in smokers.Results: Thirteen studies were included in this review. Six of these 13 studies used only one indicator to measure asthma control in smokers and ICS was found to improve asthma in only one of six of these studies. Of studies evaluating combination therapy, three of four studies reported a therapeutic benefit to smokers. In these studies of combination therapy multiple indicators of control were measured to assess drug effects.Conclusions: To assess the therapeutic benefit of ICS drugs in smokers, multiple indicators should be measured to determine if current therapy is improving asthma control. Asthma therapy should then be adjusted based on the patient’s current asthma status. The development of clinical treatment guidelines for asthmatic smokers may help clinicians make best-practice, evidence-based recommendations in order to optimize care for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The evolution of our understanding of treatment of asthma begins with assessment of severity which is primarily related to the natural history of the disease. Control is defined as normalizing of the physiologic abnormalities and lessening economic and social burden of the disease. This paper reviews the factors that influence the variability and determinants of asthma control. The tools to validate and access asthma control should be employed in daily clinical practice.Therefore, it is important to determine asthma control based on a multidimensional approach including physiologic assessment, global assessment of functionality, daytime symptoms, nighttime symptoms, healthcare utilization, and adherence to therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) guidelines recommend that patients receive a follow-up outpatient asthma visit after being discharged from an emergency department (ED) for asthma. OBJECTIVE: To measure the frequency of follow-up outpatient asthma visits and its association with repeat ED asthma visit. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children with asthma using claims data from a university-based managed care organization from 01 1998 to 10 2000. We performed a multivariate survival analysis using Cox proportional hazards model to determine the effect of follow-up outpatient asthma visits on the likelihood of a repeat ED asthma visit, after controlling for severity of illness, patient age, gender, insurance, and the specialty of the primary care provider. RESULTS: A total of 561 children had 780 ED asthma visits. Of these, 103 (17%) had a repeat ED asthma visit within 1 year. Almost two-thirds of children (66%) did not receive outpatient follow-up for asthma within 30 days of an ED asthma visit. Outpatient asthma visits within 30 days of an ED asthma visit are associated with an increased likelihood (relative risk = 1.80; 95% confidence interval 1.19, 2.72) for repeat ED asthma visits within 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients do not have outpatient follow-up after an ED asthma visit. However, those patients that present for outpatient follow-up have an increased likelihood for repeat ED asthma visits. For the primary care provider, these outpatient follow-up visits signal an increased risk that a patient will return to the ED for asthma and are a key opportunity to prevent future ED asthma visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asthma morbidity and mortality have increased at alarming rates. Morbidity is significantly higher among minorities and low-income populations. The purpose of this study was to survey pharmacies licensed to provide both asthma medications and durable medical equipment (DME) to evaluate their acceptance of Medicaid as payment for spacers and peak flow meters in patients with Medicaid. Twenty-four pharmacies were identified and completed a telephone survey. Only 64% of the pharmacies licensed to accept Medicaid for DME provide this service. We postulate that improving DME licensing and claims reimbursement will impact medication compliance, as well as asthma morbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This retrospective study was conducted to assess Taiwanese emergency physicians fobr their preference in management and adherence to guidelines in treating patients with acute exacerbation of asthma. One hundred twenty patients from hospitals of three different levels were evaluated by reviewing their medical records. Our study revealed that physicians from medical centers and regional hospitals assessed patients more often with arterial blood gas or pulse oxymetry; prescribed more doses of β[sub 2]-agonist nebulizers; administered more doses of β[sub 2]-agonist nebulizers before administering parenteral aminophylline; and prescribed ipratropium nebulizers more often as adjunctive therapy. On the other hand, physicians from district hospitals more frequently prescribed parenteral aminophylline as the first-line medication and more often prescribed only a single dose of β[sub 2]-agonist nebulizer. Most emergency physicians in Taiwan did not adhere to guidelines. Specifically, these included omission of peak expiratory flow as the means to assess the severity of asthma exacerbation and response to treatment; suboptimal use of inhaled bronchodilators, such as β[sub 2]-agonists and ipratropium; and inappropriate use of parenteral aminophylline as the first-line medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]