Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine
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The identification of phenotypes of asthma has a long history, but previous classifications have not identified clinically important differences in pathology, natural history, or treatment response. Progress has accelerated recently, fueled by the development of new techniques to assess airway disease, particularly noninvasive techniques to assess airway inflammation. ⋯ There has been increasing interest in the application of mathematical techniques such as factor analysis and cluster analysis to organize and group large amounts of interrelated data in an unbiased way. This article discusses attempts to do this in asthma and speculates on the clinical implications of this new information.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Dec 2012
Asthma: vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) and other dysfunctional breathing disorders.
Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) and dysfunctional breathing (DB) disorders may mimic or coexist with asthma, leading to overtreatment with corticosteroids with consequent morbidity. Iatrogenic complications can be averted by early and correct diagnosis. VCD, also termed paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (PVFMD), is characterized by intermittent paradoxical adduction of the vocal cords, mainly during inspiration, leading to airflow obstruction and dyspnea. ⋯ The pathophysiology of DB is poorly understood, but psychological or physiological stress may precipitate episodes in some patients. Treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach (including speech therapy and psychological support). Prognosis is usually good.
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting up to 10% of all women of child-bearing age. In most patients asthma can be safely treated during pregnancy. However, asthma crises or exacerbations during pregnancy can be life threatening to both the mother and the child. ⋯ Pregnant asthmatics require regular and intensified monitoring. National and international guidelines recommend that antiasthmatic treatment should be maintained and intensified if necessary for the well-being of both the mother and the unborn child. Although there is consensus that the potential risks of uncontrolled asthma during pregnancy outweigh the potential risks of antiasthmatic medications the use of the lowest doses possible to achieve and maintain asthma control is recommended.
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Population-based studies suggest that one in 10 cases of new, recurrent, or deteriorating asthma in adulthood is related to the workplace environment. Nonspecific, irritant exposures at work can upset symptom control in pre-existing disease (work-exacerbated asthma); where disease arises de novo from the workplace (occupational asthma) it generally has an allergic basis, arising from airborne exposure to a sensitizing agent. ⋯ The majority of cases can be diagnosed through a combination of a careful history, appropriate immunology (where available), and the detection of work-related variability in measurements of lung function made serially at work and at home. Occupational asthma is a disease that is potentially preventable and often curable; positive outcomes are dependent more on changes in the workplace than on pharmacological therapy.
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Current therapy for asthma with inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting inhaled β(2)-agonists is highly effective, safe, and relatively inexpensive, but many patients remain poorly controlled. Most advances have been through improving these drug classes and a major developmental hurdle is to improve existing drug classes. Major unmet needs include better treatment of severe asthma (which has some similarity to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), as well as curative therapies for mild to moderate asthma that do not result in the return of symptoms when the treatment is stopped. ⋯ Drugs with more widespread effects, such as kinase inhibitors, may be more effective but have a greater risk of side effects so inhaled delivery may be needed. Several new treatments target the underlying allergic/immune process and would treat concomitant allergic diseases. Improved immunotherapy approaches have the potential for disease modification, although prospects for a cure are currently remote.