BACKGROUND According to international guidelines, the goal of asthma management is to achieve and maintain control of the disease, which can be assessed using composite measures. Prospective studies are required to determine how these measures are associated with asthma outcomes and/or future risk. The 'InternationaL cross-sectIonAl and longItudinal assessment on aSthma cONtrol (LIAISON)' obser...

We examined the general practice treatment of 67 patients diagnosed as asthmatic. Compliance with treatment was poor in one-third of patients with severe asthma. Inhaled steroids were under-prescribed and our findings suggest that some severe asthmatics are receiving less than adequate therapy.

STUDY OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to develop an acute asthma index for utilization in the early differentiation between patients with poor and good therapeutic response in the emergency department (ED) setting. SETTING The ED of a large tertiary-care hospital in Montevideo, Uruguay. PATIENTS AND DESIGN The study included 145 consecutive adult patients (mean age [+/- SEM], 33.4+/-0....

This review focuses on the methods available for measuring reversible airways obstruction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and inflammation as hallmarks of asthma, and their role in monitoring children with asthma. Persistent bronchial obstruction may occur in asymptomatic children and is considered a risk factor for severe asthma episodes and is associated with poor asthma outcome. Annual ...

Despite the 2007 National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel 3 guidelines for the treatment of uncontrolled asthma, many patients with poorly controlled asthma still continue to tax the health care system. Controlling asthma symptoms and preventing acute exacerbations have been the foundation of care. Using long-term controller treatments such as inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) ...

It has been suggested that patients with refractory eosinophilic airway inflammation represent a separate "eosinophilic" asthma phenotype associated with increased morbidity and a poor prognosis. To investigate whether persistent eosinophilia in these patients is a fixed feature or can still be modified by treatment, we investigated the effect of high-dose intramuscular corticosteroids on eosin...

Adolescents with asthma, their peers, and their teachers were studied in order to establish the level of knowledge concerning asthma and its management, their attitudes towards asthma, and the degree quality of life impairment due to asthma. A community survey was conducted among year 8 high school students (n = 4161) and their teachers (n = 1104). There was a good response rate to the question...

Effective treatment of severe asthma is a major unmet need because patients' symptoms are not controlled on maximum treatment with inhaled therapy. Asthma symptoms can be poorly controlled because of poor adherence to controller therapy, and this might be addressed by using combination inhalers that contain a corticosteroid and long-acting β(2)-agonist as reliever therapy in addition to mainten...

BACKGROUND Asthma morbidity and mortality rates are high among young inner-city children. Lack of routine primary care provider visits, poor access to care, and poor patient-physician communication might be contributing factors. OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the effects of providing Breathmobile services only, a Facilitated Asthma Communication Intervention (FACI) only, or both Breathmobile ...

Poor adherence to asthma medication treatment is a dilemma as it decreases the chance of achieving and maintaining a proper asthma control. Another dilemma is that there seems to be a small range of functional interventions that enhance adherence to long-term medication treatments. The aim was to review the last five years of published educational interventions for improving adherence to asthma...