Does an asthma education program improve quality of life? A two-year randomized trial.

Asthma education programs result in clinical improvement. However, most studies involved programs of up to 1 year of follow-up, and their efficacy in improving quality of life (QoL) is still controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a program of patient education in asthmatics over 2 years.

Short-term effectiveness of an asthma educational program: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Asthma educational programs have been shown to reduce the use of emergency room, frequency of severe asthma attacks and hospitalization. However, its effectiveness in other morbidity parameters and on quality of life has yet to be fully understood. This prospective randomized control trial evaluated the effectiveness of a patient education program in 77 asthmatics according to "Teach Your Patients About Asthma: A Clinicians Guide" (1992).

[Smoking in the workplace. Study at a hospital in central Italy].

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and the source of numerous problems in the workplace. This study assessed the smoking in health care workers in a general hospital in Central Italy. As part of the health surveillance required by Law No.

[The response to a specific bronchial provocation test and the evolution of occupational asthma. A longitudinal study in subjects with toluene diisocyanate-induced asthma].

The aim of this study was to investigate the progression and long-term consequences of occupational asthma and to evaluate the effect of the pattern of response to specific bronchoprovocation test (SBPT) in the prognosis of occupational asthma among 40 subjects with asthma due to toluene diisocyanate (TDI). Nine subjects had immediate asthma, 25 subjects had late asthma and 6 subjects had dual asthma. Respiratory symptoms, persistence of exposure to TDI and lung function have been investigated both at diagnosis and at follow-up examination.