Publications by authors named "A Altraja"

Article Synopsis
  • - The development of the CompOsite iNdexes For Response in asthMa (CONFiRM) aimed to create patient-centered tools that measure responses to biologics for severe asthma in both adults and children, integrating clinical data and quality of life (QoL) indicators.
  • - Experts and patients collaborated to identify significant outcome changes and devised CONFiRM scores, which demonstrated high levels of agreement on key factors, with patients emphasizing the importance of quality of life more than healthcare professionals did.
  • - The CONFiRM scores effectively measure treatment response, with strong validity metrics indicating their reliability, and they facilitate a comprehensive assessment of biologics’ effectiveness; further studies are required for prospective validation.
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Introduction: Patients with severe asthma may be prescribed biologic therapies to improve disease control. The EVEREST study aimed to characterize the global disease burden of patients with severe asthma without access to biologics and those who have access but do not receive biologics, as well as the remaining unmet need despite use of these therapies.

Methods: This was a historical cohort study of patients with severe asthma (aged ≥18 years) in the International Severe Asthma Registry receiving Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 2018 step 5 treatment, or with uncontrolled disease at GINA step 4.

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To test the hypothesis that they serve as systemic biomarkers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we profiled the mRNA expression of enzymes connected to systemic inflammation and GSH metabolism in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). These were taken from patients displaying acute exacerbation of COPD (AE-COPD) and stable COPD, and also from non-obstructive smokers and non-smokers. The expression of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 was increased, but that of histone deacetylase 2 was decreased in association with AE-COPD.

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BACKGROUNDThis study evaluated the diagnostic performance of the thin-layer agar MDR/XDR-TB Colour Test (CT), a complex (MTBC) detection and direct drug susceptibility testing (DST) method with routine sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage and pleural fluid specimen.METHODSIn a prospective study, the time and rate of MTBC detection were compared between CT, Löwenstein-Jensen, and MGIT media. Times until DST result, sensitivities, and specificities were evaluated between CT and MGIT 960 indirect DST.

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Background: Biologic asthma therapies reduce exacerbations and long-term oral corticosteroids (LTOCS) use in randomized controlled trials (RCTs); however, there are limited data on outcomes among patients ineligible for RCTs. Hence, we investigated responsiveness to biologics in a real-world population of adults with severe asthma.

Methods: Adults in the International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) with ≥24 weeks of follow-up were grouped into those who did, or did not, initiate biologics (anti-IgE, anti-IL5/IL5R, anti-IL4/13).

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