Publications by authors named "Tuomo Kava"
Aims: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of budesonide/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy (Symbicort® SMART®, AstraZeneca AB, Södertälje, Sweden) with conventional best standard treatment (CBST) in patients with persistent asthma in an attempted 'real life' setting.
Methods: In total, 1835 patients from Denmark, Finland and Norway were randomized to 26 weeks treatment with budesonide/formoterol 160/4,5 µg twice daily plus budesonide/formoterol 160/4,5 µg for symptom relief or CBST according to the Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines. The study was randomized, open-label and designed to reflect 'real life' asthma management.
Background: In a 3-year study, adult patients who recently developed asthma (symptoms for less than 1 year) were treated for 2 years with the inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) budesonide (early therapy) or terbutaline. During the third year of the study, terbutaline-treated patients received budesonide (delayed therapy). Differences in lung function and bronchial responsiveness to histamine were observed between the 2 groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Salmeterol (SLM) is a long-acting beta(2)-receptor agonist that produces bronchodilatation for 12 hours in asthmatic subjects. The effects of the regular use of long-acting beta(2)-agonists on airway inflammation are largely unknown.
Objectives: We examined the effects of 16 weeks of treatment with 50 microg SLM bid, 250 microg fluticasone propionate (FP) bid,5 mg disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) qid, or placebo on airway inflammation in bronchial mucosa.