Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Randomized Controlled Trial
In-Patient Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Improve Asthma Control.
Despite the availability of effective pharmaceutical treatment options, many patients with asthma do not manage to control their illness. This randomized trial with a waiting-list control group examined whether a 3-week course of inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) improves asthma control (primary endpoint) and other secondary endpoints (e.g., quality of life, cardinal symptoms, mental stress). The subsequent observational segment of the study investigated the long-term outcome after PR. ⋯ The trial showed that a 3-week course of PR leads to clinically relevant improvement in asthma control and secondary endpoints. Patients who do not achieve control of their asthma despite outpatient treatment therefore benefit from rehabilitation.
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Drugs, psychotherapy, and other treatment modalities are effective for many patients with mental illness. Nonetheless, many patients do not achieve a total remission with the currently available interventions, and the recurrence rates are high. As part of the ongoing search for further treatment options for refractory disorders, there is renewed interest in focal neuromodulatory techniques, including invasive ones, and deep brain stimulation (DBS) in particular. ⋯ DBS may be a therapeutic option for selected patients with otherwise intractable mental illness. Patients should only be treated in the setting of clinical trials. RCTs with longer follow-up times must be conducted in order to substantiate, if possible, the promising evidence that has been found in case series.