The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma
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Multicenter Study
Association of exhaled nitric oxide to asthma burden in asthmatics on inhaled corticosteroids.
Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a marker of airway inflammation. Its role in assessing asthma burden in clinical practice needs more study. ⋯ Independent and clinically meaningful associations between higher FENO levels and greater asthma burden during a prior year in persistent asthmatics on ICS suggest that FENO measurement may be a complementary tool to help clinicians assess asthma burden.
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Comparative Study
An assessment of change in asthma control among adolescents and adults with persistent asthma in mometasone furoate/formoterol fumarate clinical trials.
This article provides evidence on the psychometric properties of the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) in adolescent and adult patients with persistent asthma treated with a combination of inhaled glucocorticoid and long-acting beta2-agonist (LABAs), and explores the factors associated with important improvements in asthma control. ⋯ These findings support the psychometric properties of the ACQ to measure asthma control among persistent asthma patients and provide confidence in the significant improvements in asthma control demonstrated by the MF/F treatment group.
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We recently reported that obese and non-obese patients with asthma have similar airflow limitation and bronchodilator responsiveness, but obese patients have more symptoms overall. There is limited information on the effect of obesity on asthmatics of varying severity measured by objective physiological parameters. Understanding how obesity affects asthmatics of differing severity can provide insights into the pathogenesis of asthma in the obese and a rationale for the therapeutic approach to such patients. ⋯ Obesity does not influence airway reactivity in patients with asthma and it is associated with more symptoms only in those with less severe disease.
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Case Reports
Pumpless extracorporeal lung assist for the treatment of severe, refractory status asthmaticus.
Until recently, the only available lung-protective treatment option for carbon dioxide removal due to severe, refractory status asthmaticus has been extracorporeal pump-driven membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Pumpless extracorporeal lung assist (pECLA) may serve as an alternative therapy for these patients. ⋯ This report suggests that pECLA is an alternative extracorporeal lung assist in patients with ventilation-refractory hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis due to severe, refractory status asthmaticus.
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Comparative Study
Disparities in asthma medication dispensing patterns: the case of pediatric asthma in Puerto Rico.
Disparities exist in asthma medication dispensing between children with public insurance and those with private insurance under a Managed Care Medicaid system in Puerto Rico. ⋯ A disparity exists in asthma medication dispensing between children with public insurance compared with those with private insurance under a Managed Care Medicaid system in Puerto Rico. If asthma disparities in medication dispensing are to be reduced, then a better understanding of the complex ways in which multiple variables related to the health care system policies, socioeconomic factors, family and provider interactions, as well as the relative weight that each one contributes to the observed inequalities is needed.