Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide. To treat this widespread disease there is a high prevalence of usage of herbal medicine. The use of plants is as old as humankind and it has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years. Plant-based remedies are now one ...

The relationship between socioeconomic variables and the health-related quality of life (HQL) of children with asthma and their caregivers was examined. The Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) and Pediatric Asthma Caregivers Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ) were administered to 99 pediatric asthmatic patients and caregivers in two specialty ...

Exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is a common, yet often unrecognized condition occurring in both known asthmatics and otherwise healthy individuals. Misdiagnosis, both over- and underdiagnosis, is not uncommon. In order to accurately diagnose EIA, a bronchoprovocation challenge test must be performed; the current recommended test is a eucapnic hyperventilation (EVH) challenge ...

This study was designed in a tertiary health centre in south-eastern Turkey to compare the effectiveness of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) plus standard medical therapy (ST) to ST alone, in acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. Thirty-four consecutive patients were randomly assigned to receive ...

In the past 2 decades, IgE-mediated NRL allergy has become a well-defined condition with recognised risk groups, established diagnostic tools, and adequate prevention strategies (1-3). Furthermore, molecular biology and biochemical techniques have significantly improved our knowledge of the proteins responsible to cause the disease. Clinical manifestations will not be addressed ...

GOALS: To determine the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in subjects with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) compared with non-GERD controls. STUDY: Two hundred subjects were identified from a list of Cedars-Sinai Medical Foundation patients and gastroenterology motility practice subjects with and without a potential diagnosis of GERD. All subjects ...

Aspirin is one of the most widely used medications in the world. Adverse effects related to aspirin use were described almost concurrently with its first use. The most common side effects are gastrointestinal and renal, but adverse respiratory effects are not uncommon, and approximately 10% of adult asthmatics are aspirin ...

Sixty male subjects with self-reported high, moderate, and low aggressive dispositions were given the opportunity to aggress, by administering electric shocks, against an increasingly provocative fictitious opponent within the context of a competitive reaction time task. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) 10 mg of diazepam ...

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recommends the regular use of antiinflammatory medications to achieve and maintain control of persistent asthma, while recommending that quick-relief beta2-agonist medications should be used to treat acute symptoms and exacerbations. Despite these suggestions, the overuse of short-acting quick-relief medications and underuse of ...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic itchy, inflammatory skin disease that is extremely difficult to treat. Effective therapeutic agents are limited in number, and may have long-term toxic side-effects. Frustrated by these realities, many patients stop seeking help from conventional physicians and turn to alternative medical approaches. These can include ...

Asthma management guidelines recommend the use of preventive medications in sufficient amounts to control asthma symptoms. The validity of a medication use index as a proxy for asthma severity has not been established. We recruited 1,279 Ontario adults with asthma or parents of children with asthma from a community-based surveillance ...

Ten subjects with various degrees of asthma severity underwent a three-day trial, with the aim of evaluating the bronchodilating effect of inhaled formoterol (12 micro g), in comparison with salbutamol (200 micro g) and salmeterol (50 micro g). The bronchodilation afforded by formoterol paralleled that of salbutamol in rapidity (mean ...

Flunisolide is a synthetic corticosteroid approved for the treatment of persistent asthma and delivered by means of a metered-dose inhaler (MDI). A new formulation of flunisolide, using hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) as a propellant, has been developed to comply with the mandated worldwide phase-out of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellants. Aerosol particle size ...

Recently, a concerted effort has been made to reverse the trend of increasing asthma mortality and morbidity. One additional strategy might be to recognize patients at risk for persistent asthma and to intervene early. This review summarizes new information on asthma pathogenesis that has helped shape a new direction in ...

A budget impact model was used to estimate the effect of introducing inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone propionate combination on asthma drug-related costs in France. The model is based on disease prevalence, drug use, drug acquisition cost and sales forecasting data specific to France. It takes the perspective of social security and has ...

In this paper, recipes for 41 herbal remedies used for treating 25 illnesses in traditional medicine in Swaziland are reported. Preparation of the herbal remedies involved the use of different parts of 47 species from 32 families, some of which have never been described previously in the flora of Swaziland. ...

BACKGROUND: Corticosteroids form an important component of the treatment of acute asthma. Systemic anaphylactic reactions to intravenous corticosteroids have been reported, although their incidence is extremely rare. OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical features and underlying mechanisms of anaphylactic reactions to intravenous corticosteroids in adult asthmatics. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The clinical ...

The paper presents a system developed for the assistance of diagnosis and treatment of chronic asthma. The system, named ASISTASTM, is a result of an interdisciplinary cooperation and is designed for the physician non specialist in the field of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. The ASISTASTM system offers assistance for the ...

OBJECTIVES: A medical surveillance programme was introduced into Ontario for workers exposed to diisocyanates in 1983, but no mandated surveillance programme is in effect in this province for other occupational respiratory sensitisers. This study assesses changes in incidence and severity of compensated claims for occupational asthma (OA) due to diisocyanates ...

Sugar-containing syrups such as cough medications have been recognised as potentially cariogenic, especially for chronically sick children suffering from otitis media, seizure disorder, congenital cardiac diseases and asthma. Unfortunately, an increasing number of juveniles are addicted to cough syrups containing centrally-acting drugs and these individuals not only end up with ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess to what extent the principles of asthma monitoring are implemented among Finnish asthma patients and if the patients have received sufficient information to adjust their medication according to asthma symptoms. SETTING: All Finnish asthma patients receiving asthma medication from Finnish community ...

Asthma affects approximately 5 million children in the United States. This disease results in billions of dollars of expenditures for hospitalizations, emergency admissions, medications, equipment, and indirect costs such as lost work productivity. This article describes how children with asthma received in-depth evaluations and education, long-term control medications, and Air ...

The incidence of allergic diseases is increasing to epidemic proportions both in the developed and developing world with increasing medical costs and lost productivity. The discovery of immunoglobulin (Ig) E heralded a new era in pathophysiological understanding of allergic disorders. Twenty-five years later, a humanised, non-anaphylactogenic antibody was developed against ...

Theophylline was first isolated in 1888 and remains the most commonly used medication worldwide for the treatment of asthma. It decreases the need for asthma rescue medications by people who have asthma and is an effective steroid-sparing agent for patients who tolerate it. Recently, investigators have shown that theophylline decreases ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Increasing morbidity due to asthma and antimicrobial resistance among human pathogens are both major public-health concerns. Numerous studies describe the overuse of antibiotics in general populations and underuse of anti-inflammatory medications by asthmatic patients. However, little is known about the relationship between asthma medication and antibiotic use in ...

OBJECTIVE: In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF), bronchodilating agents administered by inhalation have, in general, little effect on dynamic hyperinflation and concurrent static intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEPi,st). Since in COPD the severely obstructed segments of the lung may not be reached by inhaled ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a targeted asthma intervention on treatment costs, utilization of medical services, number of prescription drugs filled, and trends of medication use from a third-party perspective. STUDY DESIGN: Longitudinal population-based study. METHODS: Study asthmatic patients were classified into intermittent and persistent asthma groups according to ...

Asthma is a chronic disease that cannot be cured but can be effectively controlled. Control is achieved through education of the patient, monitoring of symptoms and pulmonary functions, environmental modification and pharmacologic therapy. The latter should aim at providing control with the least amount of medications. Any form of asthma ...

Acute epiglottitis has traditionally been described as a paediatric disease in reports from temperate countries. There have been very few reports from tropical countries. This is a retrospective review of 32 cases of acute epiglottitis from Singapore over an eight-year period from 1992 to 1999. There were 31 adults and ...

Drugs available to treat asthma have improved considerably over the past three decades and understanding of the disease process is continually improving. However, the incidence of asthma is increasing and the cause(s) of this increase are not yet identified. Asthma is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Poor compliance with medication is ...

BACKGROUND: Last year, Australian Family Physician published 'Guidelines for Management of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis', which were developed by Osteoporosis Australia. Recently, significant advances in our understanding of the treatment of corticosteroid osteoporosis have occurred. OBJECTIVE: The following guidelines, also developed by Osteoporosis Australia, and supported by the National Asthma Campaign, are ...

OBJECTIVE: The number of medical Web sites has increased tremendously during the past 5 years. While the quality of the content has also been on the rise, some questions are still open: Where are users referredfrom, how large is the target audience, and how do they behave during their visit? ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with asthma commonly have other medical problems such as obesity, but it is unclear if obesity independently relates to asthma occurrence. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between asthma and obesity. METHODS: We studied enrollees aged 17 to 96 years in region 11 of TRICARE, a military managed health ...

BACKGROUND: Two workers from a headlight subassembly plant developed severe peripheral neuropathy. These workers had extensive, but brief (1-2 months) dermal and inhalational exposure to nitromethane, a solvent. METHODS: Environmental sampling was performed for nitromethane and ethyl cyanoacrylate. Medical records, including electrodiagnostic studies, were reviewed. Literature on nitromethane, ethyl cyanoacrylate, ...

BACKGROUND: Despite the large number of asthma patients, relatively little is known about the beliefs of asthmatic children and their parent(s), or the extent to which these beliefs influence management of the disease. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine how medication-taking and the use of health care ...

Asthma continues to be a challenging disease to treat in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The growing database on therapeutic interventions at the time of transition from the acute to chronic phase of this disease is encouraging. Glucocorticoids and inhaled beta-agonists clearly reduce readmission and relapse. Other medications and ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Connecticut's Medicaid high-dose beta 2-agonists (HDB) users (> 1 canister/mo) are receiving medications according to National Institutes of Health (NIH) asthma guidelines, and to compare healthcare utilization between HDB users and patients receiving no more than one canister of a short-acting beta 2-agonist per month. METHODS: ...

This survey of 48 multicultural parents of children with asthma identifies and compares alternative and complementary treatments used for asthma, and compares any potentially effective or harmful effects. Thirty-nine (81%) of the parents used at least one form of alternative or complementary therapy to treat their child's asthma. Nontraditional therapies ...

Medication use during neonatal resuscitation is uncommon. The infrequent use of resuscitation medications has impeded rigorous investigations to determine the most effective agents and/or dosing regimens. The medications most commonly used during delivery room resuscitation include epinephrine, sodium bicarbonate, naloxone hydrochloride and volume expanders. The available evidence for each of ...

CONTEXT: Asthma has been reported as a disease of increasing prevalence. OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of information and knowledge about asthma by means of a questionnaire among recent graduate physicians applying for medical residency at the Clinical Hospital of the University of São Paulo Medical School, Brazil. DESIGN: 14 ...

As the pathophysiology of asthma becomes better understood, a specific course of therapy can be directed to the underlying cause of asthma and not just to the signs and symptoms of asthma. This article presents medications available for physicians to use in their armamentarium to prevent the asthmatic patient from ...

Advances in the pharmacotherapeutic options available to treat erectile dysfunction over the past decade have transformed the field of impotence. The initial foray into this field with intracavernous injections of papaverine rapidly expanded the number of men seeking attention for priapism, a previously rare clinical condition. The recent widespread use ...

This randomised, multicentre, parallel-group study compared the clinical efficacy and ease of handling of two dry powder inhalers delivering the long-acting beta 2-agonist formoterol. After run-in, 200 asthmatics on treatment with inhaled corticosteroids and still presenting with suboptimal asthma control were randomised to receive 12 micrograms formoterol twice daily via ...

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is the most common medical emergency in children. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality rates and poses a tremendous societal burden worldwide. Management of the acute attack involves a stepwise approach that includes beta-agonist and steroid therapy, the mainstay of emergency treatment. Most patients will respond ...

BACKGROUND: Exposure reduction has proven to be effective in the prevention of occupational asthma. Few data are available on the effectiveness of secondary prevention programs, including medical examinations and removal of workers from exposure sources after detecting symptoms or signs indicative of a beginning disease. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess ...

Over the last half of the last century, classic studies established many features of the development of the lung in humans. Early studies relied on meticulous measurement and evaluation of lung morphology and physiology. In recent years, such studies have been supplemented by carefully conducted, longitudinal studies and by the ...

BACKGROUND: Perfumes have been associated with rashes in employees exposed to scented soaps or with allergic conditions, such as rhinitis or asthma, in employees exposed to perfumes or fragrances in the air. METHODS: Reported here is a case of an anaphylactic reaction and respiratory distress as a result of a ...

For patients whose asthma remains in poor control necessitating high utilization of medical services, a referral to a specialized "center of excellence" is often considered. A decade ago, we evaluated our pediatric asthma program of long-term hospitalization (median stay of 75 days) and found significant decreases in subjects' medical utilization ...

We conducted a cross-sectional study to identify the socio-economic and environmental protective/risk factors for severe malaria in Thailand. Forty-six cases of severe malaria, 72 cases of non-severe malaria with high parasite biomass and 40 mild malaria cases were included. When comparing severe malaria and non-severe malaria with high parasite biomass, ...

Combinations of inhaled glucocorticoids and long-acting beta2-agonists in the same inhaler device have become available in recent years. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study we have evaluated the onset of action of budesonide and formoterol in a single inhaler (Symbicort Turbuhaler) and that of the fixed combination of ...