[Efficacy and tolerance of terbutaline and budesonide administered via a pressurized aerosol inhaler or a Turbohaler in asthmatic patients].

35 asthmatic patients, aged from 23 to 73 years, participated in an open study aimed to compare the efficacy and tolerance of terbutaline and budesonide administered in similar amounts with a metered-dose inhaler fitted with a spacer (Nebuhaler) or by a powder inhaler (Turbuhaler). The patients used each device for seven weeks after a running-in phase of two weeks and gave at the end their preference for one or the other mode of administration. Among lung function values, the forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) was significantly higher during the Turbuhaler period than during the period with metered-dose inhaler whereas the forced vital capacity, mid-expiratory flow rate and peak-flow morning and evening were not significantly different.

[Course and prognosis of chronic obstructive lung disease over 5 and 10 years].

453 patients aged over 40 hospitalized with severe COPD, a mean age of 66 years and mean FEV1 of 1.24 litres (49% predicted) were prospectively followed up for 5 years (341) and 10 years (195) respectively. 5-year survival was 47%, while 10-year survival was severely limited despite uniform therapy (23%).

[Continuous nasal positive pressure respiration (nCPAP) as a therapeutic possibility in the sleep apnea syndrome].

Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a rare disorder which is being diagnosed more often with increasing knowledge among physicians and patients. SAS presents with daytime hypersomnolence, intellectual deterioration and personality changes, chiefly in obese men, and is caused by intermittent upper airway obstruction during sleep at the level of the mesopharynx. Consecutive repetitive apneas of more than 10 seconds' duration are immediately abolished by pneumatic splinting with continuous positive pressure of 5 to 15 cm H2O with a nasal mask (nCPAP).