Non-adherence to Haemodialysis, Interdialytic weight gain and cardiovascular mortality: a cohort study.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD) on haemodialysis (HD) have high morbidity and mortality rates, which are also due to the inherent risks associated with nephropathy. Non-adherence (NA) to the different demands of the treatment can have consequences for the outcome of patients undergoing HD; nevertheless, there are still doubts about such repercussions. This study was conducted to evaluate the association between NA to conventional HD and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality.

Dual exposure to smoking and household air pollution is associated with an increased risk of severe asthma in adults in Brazil.

Background: The relationship between smoking, household pollution, dual exposure and severity of asthma in adults has not been sufficiently studied. We examined and compared the effects of cigarette smoking, domestic wood burning pollution and dual exposure (tobacco and wood burning) upon asthma severity in adults.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed with 452 individuals with mild to moderate asthma and 544 patients with severe asthma (previously untreated).

Comparison between two methods of asthma control evaluation based on individual perception.

Objective: To compare the subjective perception of asthma control reported by the patient with that measured by the score obtained on the Asthma Control Questionnaire 6-item version (ACQ-6) in patients with severe asthma and to determine whether asthma control is associated with the number of emergency room visits in the previous month.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 528 patients treated at the Bahia State Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis Control Program Central Referral Clinic between August of 2008 and March of 2010, in the city of Salvador, Brazil. The patients completed the ACQ-6 and answered a specific additional question in order to evaluate their own perception of asthma control in the previous week.

Use of inhaler devices and asthma control in severe asthma patients at a referral center in the city of Salvador, Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate the use of inhaler devices by patients with severe asthma treated via the Programa para o Controle da Asma e Rinite Alérgica na Bahia(ProAR, Bahia State Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis Control Program), recording the frequency of their errors in performing key steps and the relationship between such errors and the lack of asthma control.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 467 patients enrolled in the ProAR in the city of Salvador, Brazil. The devices evaluated were metered dose inhalers (MDIs), with or without a spacer, and dry powder inhalers (DPIs; Pulvinal® or Aerolizer®).

Predictors of hospital admission due to asthma in children and adolescents enrolled in an asthma control program.

Objective: To determine the clinical characteristics and the predictors of hospital admission due to asthma among children and adolescents with asthma under treatment at a referral center.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study comprising 151 children and adolescents with asthma, referred from the Unified Health Care System and enrolled in the Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis Control Program in the city of Feira de Santana, Brazil, followed for a period of 12 months and receiving asthma medication at no cost. The chi-square test was used in order to determine the associations between the studied variables and the occurrence of hospital admissions, whereas the Mann-Whitney test was used for the comparison between the groups of hospitalized patients and nonhospitalized patients.

Risk factors for ER visits due to asthma exacerbations in patients enrolled in a program for the control of asthma and allergie rhinitis in Feira de Santana, Brazil.

Objective: To determine the risk factors for ER visits due to asthma exacerbations in patients monitored at a referral center.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 253 outpatients (children and adults) with asthma who were monitored for 12 months at the Referral Center of the Program for the Control of Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis in the city of Feira de Santana, Brazil.

Results: Exacerbations were common, and 36.