[Mortality due to asthma in Spain, 1990-2015].

Introduction: Asthma is a major public health problem affecting more than 300 million people worldwide. The importance of a disease can be measured by its prevalence, burden of care, and its morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To determine the mortality rates for asthma in Spain in the period 1990-2015.

A proposal for the withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids in the clinical practice of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

According to the current clinical practice guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the addition of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) to long-acting β agonist therapy is recommended in patients with moderate-to-severe disease and an increased risk of exacerbations. However, ICS are largely overprescribed in clinical practice, and most patients are unlikely to benefit from long-term ICS therapy.Evidence from recent randomized-controlled trials supports the hypothesis that ICS can be safely and effectively discontinued in patients with stable COPD and in whom ICS therapy may not be indicated, without detrimental effects on lung function, health status, or risk of exacerbations.

Management and referral of patients with severe and poorly controlled asthma in primary care.

Background: Over 50% of treated patients with asthma in Europe are not well controlled. Their management in primary health care (PHC) differs from that in specialized care, and there is no real coordination between the two.

Objectives: To identify barriers and solutions to improving the management of patients with severe and poorly controlled asthma and the communication between specialists and PHC, and to reach a consensus on the criteria for referral patients.

[Fixed-dose combination fluticasone propionate/formoterol for the treatment of asthma: a review of its pharmacology, efficacy and tolerability].

The fixed-dose combination fluticasone propionate/formoterol (FPF) is a novel combination of a widely known and used inhaled glucocorticoid (IGC) and a long-acting β2-adrenergic agonist (LABA), available for the first time in a single device. This fixed-dose combination of FPF has a demonstrated efficacy and safety profile in clinical trials compared with its individual components and other fixed-dose combinations of IGC/LABA and is indicated for the treatment of persistent asthma in adults and adolescents. FPF is available in a wide range of doses that can adequately cover the therapeutic steps recommended by treatment guidelines, constituting a fixed-dose combination of GCI/LABA that is effective, rapid, well tolerated and with a reasonable acquisition cost.