Venous thromboembolic disease and cancer.

Venous thromboembolic disease is a common cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with cancer. Patients have a 5-6-fold increase in the risk for a venous thromboembolism (VTE) compared with the general population, increasing to 6-7-fold for some cancers. Prophylaxis for VTE should be considered whenever additional risk factors intervene.

Generic inhaled salbutamol versus branded salbutamol. A randomised double-blind study.

Generic substitution of salbutamol lags behind that of other drugs in Scotland and a negative perception by both patients and doctors may explain this. The aim of this study was to assess whether, in clinical practice, there was any difference in efficacy between branded salbutamol (Ventolin) and a generic preparation. Asthmatic patients using a Ventolin metered-dose inhaler at least twice a day for symptom relief were entered into a double-blind cross-over study, comparing Ventolin, blinded Ventolin and a generic salbutamol in random order for two weeks each.

Damp housing and asthma: a case-control study.

Background: Several epidemiological studies have reported a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms in subjects living in damp housing, but links with specific respiratory diseases such as asthma have not been satisfactorily established.

Methods: One hundred and two subjects with physician diagnosed asthma and 196 age and sex matched controls were interviewed; 222 (75%) then agreed to have their dwelling surveyed for dampness. The prevalence of both self-reported and observed dampness in the homes of the asthmatic subjects and controls were compared.

Sedation for fibre optic bronchoscopy.

Most current sedative regimens for fibre optic bronchoscopy use an opioid, a benzodiazepine or a combination of both. This study compares midazolam (M) (a benzodiazepine), alfentanil (A) (an opioid) and a combination of both drugs (M+A). One hundred and three patients were randomized in double-blind manner into groups M(35), A(33) and M+A(35).