The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effectiveness of high repeated doses of inhaled budesonide or fluticasone in controlling acute asthma exacerbations in young children.
The role of inhaled corticosteroids in the treatment of acute asthma exacerbations in children is controversial. This study compared the effect of inhaled budesonide and inhaled fluticasone in controlling acute asthma exacerbations in young children at home. ⋯ Acute asthma exacerbations in young children can be effectively controlled at home with the use of high repetitive doses of inhaled budesonide or inhaled fluticasone, initially together with beta(2)-agonists, given at the beginning of the attack, for a period of 4-8 days.
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Asthma is a disease of air flow obstruction. Transmitted sounds can be analyzed in detail and may shed light upon the physiology of asthma and how it changes over time. The goals of this study were to use a computerized analytic acoustic tool to evaluate respiratory sound patterns in asthmatic patients during acute attacks and after clinical improvement and to compare asthmatic profiles with those of normal individuals. ⋯ Respiratory sound analysis demonstrated significant asynchrony between right and left lungs in asthma exacerbations, a finding which, to our knowledge, has never been reported to date. The asynchrony is significantly reduced with clinical improvement following treatment.
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Asthmatics requiring admission to the intensive care unit and/or mechanical ventilation have increased morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study is to examine morbidity and mortality in patients requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation for asthma over a 10-year period. This study also reviews the clinical features and management of these patients. ⋯ Although these patients had multiple risk factors for mortality from asthma, no deaths in this study were related to complications of mechanical ventilation. This low mortality may be related to changes in management of mechanical ventilation as well as changes in chronic outpatient asthma therapy.
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Asthma that is chronic may influence children's behavioral health and quality of life (QoL) negatively. ⋯ Increased rates of attention deficit symptoms in children with asthma, as reported by mothers, might reflect the negative impact of asthma on neurobehavioral health. Asthmatic children, especially the ones who display attention deficit symptoms, must be considered for further evaluation regarding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.