[Asthma 2020 Nursing Consensus Document].

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease which presents with a risk of exacerbations. Good patient management and continuous monitoring are crucial for good disease control, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are essential for proper treatment. Nurses specialised in asthma can contribute to the correct management of asthmatic patients.

Clinical management, expectations, and satisfaction of patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinoconjunctivitis treated with SQ-standardized grass-allergen tablet under routine clinical practice conditions in Spain.

Background: Sublingual immunotherapy has been proven as a well-tolerated and effective treatment for allergic rhinitis. Within this type of treatment, GRAZAX is the most documented product in terms of safety and efficacy. The objective of this study was to identify the patients' expectations and level of treatment satisfaction, as well as the clinical management of patients with moderate/severe allergic rhinoconjunctivitis treated with GRAZAX.

Treatment of patients with COPD and recurrent exacerbations: the role of infection and inflammation.

Exacerbations of COPD represent an important medical and health care problem. Certain susceptible patients suffer recurrent exacerbations and as a consequence have a poorer prognosis. The effects of bronchial infection, either acute or chronic, and of the inflammation characteristic of the disease itself raise the question of the possible role of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents in modulating the course of the disease.

[Economic cost of treating the patient with asthma in Spain: the AsmaCost study].

Objective: This analysis of the cost of asthma in Spain includes both direct health care costs and indirect costs arising from illness.

Patients And Methods: Prospective, 12-month observational cohort study of adult patients with asthma diagnosed according to the guidelines of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the adapted Spanish criteria (GEMA). We recorded information on health care resources utilized (medications, medical visits, emergency care, hospital admissions, and tests) and indirect costs (patient travel or transfer costs and workdays lost).

Differences in asthma clinical outcomes according to initial severity.

Unlabelled: Information on asthma morbidity outcomes in relation to the initial degree of severity is scarce.

Objective: To determine the differences in asthma morbidity, quality of life (QOL), and lung function outcomes according to the initial severity of the illness.

Method: A cohort of 235 (102 mild, 69 moderate, and 64 severe) asthma patients was followed up for 3 years.

Health-related quality of life and mortality in male patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

To assess whether generic and specific health-related quality of life (HRQL) are independently associated with total and specific mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we followed until 1999 a cohort of 321 male patients with COPD, recruited in 1993-1994 at outpatient respiratory clinics. Baseline characteristics recorded under stable clinical conditions included forced spirometry, arterial blood gas tensions, dyspnea scales, 11 comorbid conditions, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and SF-36 Health Survey.

Patient perception and acceptability of multidose dry powder inhalers: a randomized crossover comparison of Diskus/Accuhaler with Turbuhaler.

This study was designed to provide information on correct use and preference to features and device handling of two multidose dry powder inhalers, the Diskus/Accuhaler and the Turbuhaler. A total of 169 powder-naive patients (mean age 40 years) with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were enrolled in a randomized crossover comparison of both inhalers. An effective use of either inhaler was assessed before (leaflet only) and after inhaler education.