BACKGROUND Gastroesophageal reflux is common among patients with asthma but often causes mild or no symptoms. It is not known whether treatment of gastroesophageal reflux with proton-pump inhibitors in patients who have poorly controlled asthma without symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux can substantially improve asthma control. METHODS In a parallel-group, double-blind trial, we randomly ass...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES High prevalence and poor control of asthma make its management a major public health issue worldwide, especially in developing countries. Optimum review of asthma management in the community is essential to improve asthma control. This study was conducted to investigate the quality of asthma management, knowledge about asthma and quality of life of asthma patients referr...

OBJECTIVE To determine the proportion of asthma patients with poor perception of asthma control and to evaluate the characteristics of this subgroup. METHODS A cross-sectional study in which consecutive outpatients (over the age of 12) with mild, moderate, or severe asthma were selected. The patients underwent clinical examination and pulmonary function tests, as well as being assessed for de...

BACKGROUND Asthma is common during pregnancy, however research is limited regarding the extent and timing of changes in asthma management associated with pregnancy. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of asthma during pregnancy and identify changes in treatment and asthma exacerbation rates associated with pregnancy, while controlling for seasonal influences. METHODS Pregnant women with a...

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airway associated with airflow obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness that varies in severity across the spectrum of the disease. Asthma affects 5-7% of the population of North America and Europe, and the prevalence is increasing. Most patients with asthma are easily diagnosed, responding to standard treatment with a short-acting inhaled beta2-ag...

Inadequate attention given to the management of asthma and ways of improving bronchial asthma control could be an important factor for the rising morbidity and mortality from asthma despite major advances in our understanding of the disease process. There is a paucity of data concerning the challenges faced in the management of asthma in Africa. This review was aimed at highlighting the challen...

though intravenous (iv) magnesium sulphate (mgs04) has additive effect to beta-2 agonists, its additive benefit in face of combination therapy with beta-2-agonists and ipratropium (standard therapy of severe acute exacerbation of asthma) remains unaddressed. the aim of this investigation was to evaluate the role of iv mgso4 when used as an adjunct to standard therapy of severe exacerbations of ...

BACKGROUND Denial of having a chronic condition, poor knowledge of the disease process and lack of adherence to standard treatment are often considered to be important factors that increase morbidity in asthma. We evaluated the effect of standard treatment guidelines and asthma education programme on asthma control among patients enrolled from a referral health facility of Delhi in India. MET...

OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine the effectiveness of school-based supervised asthma therapy in improving asthma control. The primary hypothesis was that the supervised-therapy group would have a smaller proportion of children experiencing an episode of poor asthma control each month, compared with those in the usual-care group. METHODS Children were eligible if they had physician-diagnosed pe...