Respiratory medicine
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Respiratory medicine · Aug 2017
Correlation of pulmonary function and usual interstitial pneumonia computed tomography patterns in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Little is known about presenting 'inconsistent' or 'possible' usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) computed tomography (CT) patterns advancing to 'consistent' UIP as disease progresses in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We hypothesized that if 'consistent' UIP represented more advanced disease, such a pattern on presentation should also correlate with more severe pulmonary function test (PFT) abnormalities. ⋯ PFT findings appear to correlate with extent of radiologic disease but not specific morphologic patterns. Whether such UIP patterns represent different stages of disease severity or radiologic progression is not supported by coinciding pulmonary function decline.
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Respiratory medicine · Aug 2017
Comparative StudyInitiating or changing to a fixed-dose combination of Fluticasone propionate/Formoterol over Fluticasone propionate/Salmeterol: A real-life effectiveness and cost impact evaluation.
Asthma has a substantial impact on quality of life and health care resources. The identification of a more cost-effective, yet equally efficacious, treatment could positively influence the economic burden of this disease. Fluticasone propionate/Formoterol (FP/FOR) may be as effective as Fluticasone Salmeterol (FP/SAL). We evaluated non-inferiority of asthma control in terms of the proportion of patients free from exacerbations, and conducted a cost impact analysis. ⋯ Changing to, or initiating FP/FOR combination therapy, is associated with a non-inferior proportion of patients who are severe exacerbation-free at a lower average annual cost compared with continuing or initiating treatment with FP/SAL.