Comparison of early effects of budesonide/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy with fluticasone furoate/vilanterol for asthma patients requiring step-up from inhaled corticosteroid monotherapy.

Background: If asthma patients fail to achieve symptom control using a medium dose of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) alone, addition of a long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) is the preferred treatment. Currently, there are several combinations of ICS/LABA that are available, each of which has a different property. Here, we aimed to compare the early effects of budesonide/formoterol (BUD/FM; Symbicort(®)) for maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) with a fixed dose of fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI; Relvar(®)).

Comparison of budesonide/formoterol Turbuhaler with fluticasone/salmeterol Diskus for treatment effects on small airway impairment and airway inflammation in patients with asthma.

Background: A course of combination therapy with an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and a long-acting β(2) agonist (LABA) for asthma can improve lung function, asthma symptoms and reduce exacerbations. Because both medicinal substance and inhalation devices are associated with clinical efficacy, each ICS/LABA combination may have different features. This study aimed to compare the effects of two widely available formulations, budesonide/formoterol (BUD/FM) delivered by a Turbuhaler(®), and fluticasone/salmeterol (FP/SM) delivered by a Diskus(®), on small airway function and airway inflammation.

Effects of the addition of Beta2-agonist tulobuterol patches to inhaled corticosteroid in patients with asthma.

Background: Whether the additive effects of the tulobuterol patch (TP), the world's first transdermal beta2-agonist preparation, are useful in asthma patients receiving inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) is unclear. To examine the add-on effects of TP on bronchial hyperresponsiveness and reduction of the percentage of sputum eosinophils, and to compare add-on effects of TP, slow-release theophylline (SRT), and a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) in patients with asthma receiving ICS.

Methods: Study 1: We randomly allocated 24 patients with asthma receiving ICS alone in equal numbers to either control treatment (ICS alone at conventional doses) or TP treatment (ICS at conventional doses plus TP at 2mg/day).

[Remission of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis during antituberculosis chemotherapy].

The patient was a 32-year-old man in whom pulmonary tuberculosis had occurred 5 years after the presumptive onset of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. A diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis was made by sputum smears positive for acid-fast bacilli. Computer tomography of the chest showed ground glass opacities, consolidation and cavitation.