[Protocol for the management of obstructive sleep apnea by Primary Care using the STOP-Bang questionnaire and simplified diagnosis methods as screening tools in the region of Osona, Central Catalonia (Barcelona)].

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a widespread disease, but usually is an underdiagnosed and undertreated public health problem. Nowadays its study is expensive. Collaboration and involvement of all specialties are necessary, also the implementation of simplified diagnostic methods to try to improve detection, increase the diagnosis and treatment ratio.

[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.

Changes in clinical, pulmonary function, quality of life and costs in a cohort of asthmatic patients followed for 10 years.

Unlabelled: Few studies have comprehensively assessed the evolution asthma disease in recent years.

Objectives: To determine changes in morbidity, lung function and quality of life and to establish the impact in terms of cost in a cohort of patients with asthma.

Methods: Prospective, descriptive and realistic study that included 220 asthma patients evaluated 10 years after their inclusion (1994-2004).

[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).

[Value of thoracoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of complicated thoracic endometriosis in 2 patients].

We present 2 cases in which, when faced with suspicion of catamenial hemopneumothorax or pneumothorax, video-assisted thoracoscopy was used for identification, biopsy, and electrocoagulation of the tissue sites where pleural endometriosis was suspected.

[Smoking among adolescents: population study on parental and school influences].

Objective: Smoking represents a public health problem, one which begins during adolescence. The main objective of this study was to analyze the association between smoking and parental and school factors.

Subjects And Methods: The study sample consisted of the students from the 20 secondary schools in the region of Osona, Barcelona, Spain.

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.

Rupatadine 10 mg and ebastine 10 mg in seasonal allergic rhinitis: a comparison study.

Background: The aim of this study is to establish the efficacy and safety of rupatadine vs ebastine and placebo in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR). Rupatadine is a new second generation H(1)-antihistamine with once-daily dosing that may provide better control of symptoms than the currently used H(1)-receptor blockers because of its dual pharmacological profile (anti-PAF and anti-H(1)).

Methods: In a multicentre study, 250 patients with SAR were included in a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group and placebo-controlled study.

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.

Quality of life and economic features in elderly asthmatics.

Background: In the geriatric population, asthma tends to be overlooked. Moreover, typical symptoms of asthma may mimic chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Objective: To compare the characteristics of asthma between elderly (>/=65 years) and adult (<65 years) asthma patients with regard to asthma severity, health-related quality of life, and direct expenditures for medical care generated by the disease.

Costs of asthma according to the degree of severity.

An increase in asthma-related morbidity and mortality has been reported recently, resulting in a substantial increase in the economic impact of this condition. Little information is available relating to the costs of asthma depending on the degree of severity of the disease. Total, direct and indirect costs generated by asthma patients who sought medical care for asthma control over a one-year period in a northern area of Spain were determined.

[Clinical characteristics and morbidity in stable asthma. A descriptive analysis of asthma in a Mediterranean community].

Unlabelled: Scarce clinical and epidemiological data related to asthma are available in Spain.

Objectives: a) to determine the severity of disease and morbidity among symptomatic asthmatics, and b) to determine whether international recommendations for the treatment of asthma are being followed. A prospective descriptive study enrolling asthmatics older than 14 years of age who experienced symptoms within the past year.

High adenosine deaminase level in pleural effusion due to Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

A case with a high adenosine deaminase (ADA) level in pleural effusion due to Waldenström's macroglobulinemia is reported. This is the first case of this disease which is described as a cause of an increased pleural ADA.

[Have the causes of hemoptysis changed? An analysis of 213 patients undergoing fiber bronchoscopic exploration].

For decades the most frequent causes of hemoptysis have been bronchiectasis, tuberculosis and bronchogenic carcinoma. A recent study, however, has shown that the etiology has changed, as the incidence of hemoptysis due to tuberculosis or bronchiectasis has decreased while that due to bronchitis has increased. To determine the causes of hemoptysis in patients who underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FB).

CT of pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

Objective: To describe the radiological findings of long-standing pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

Materials And Methods: Serial radiography and CT, including high-resolution CT scans, were performed in two patients.

Results: The tumor has remained radiographically stationary for 10 and 20 years, respectively.

[Effectiveness of the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax using small caliber pleural catheter].

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax (PT) by small caliber pleural catheter (SCPC) carried out by physicians with no surgical experience in the emergency department.

Methods: Forty-eight patients with spontaneous PT (23 total, 4 of them tensional) were included in the study. An 8 French caliber polyethylene SCPC was inserted in all the patients requiring pleural drainage.

Response of the nose to exercise in healthy subjects and in patients with rhinitis and asthma.

Background: Although the nose and the bronchi are both involved in the process of regulating respiratory heat exchange, thermal changes may precipitate airway obstruction during exercise but rarely cause nasal obstruction in patients with rhinitis. The cause of the different response of the nose and bronchial tree has hardly been investigated. This study was performed to assess the response of the nose during exercise in the presence of rhinitis, asthma, and in normal controls.