What to consider before prescribing inhaled medications: a pragmatic approach for evaluating the current inhaler landscape.

Inhaled therapies are the cornerstone of treatment in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and there are a multitude of devices available. There is, however, a distinct lack of evidence-based guidance for healthcare providers on how to choose an appropriate inhaler. This review aims to summarise recent updates on topics related to inhaler choice, and to offer practical considerations for healthcare providers regarding currently marketed devices.

SQ house dust mite sublingually administered immunotherapy tablet (ALK) improves allergic rhinitis in patients with house dust mite allergic asthma and rhinitis symptoms.

Background: House dust mite (HDM) allergy is associated with persistent allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic asthma.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of a SQ HDM sublingually administered immunotherapy tablet (ALK, Hørsholm, Denmark) in adults and adolescents with HDM respiratory allergic disease and report the AR results.

Methods: Six hundred four subjects at least 14 years old with HDM AR and mild to moderate HDM allergic asthma were randomized 1:1:1:1 to double-blinded daily treatment with 1, 3, 6 SQ-HDM or placebo.

Fluticasone propionate/formoterol: a fixed-combination therapy with flexible dosage.

International guidelines describe asthma control as the main outcome of asthma management. Prevention of symptoms, improved quality of life, and reduction of exacerbations are the main components, consequently decreasing health care costs. However, many of these objectives remain unmet in real life: several surveys show that a large proportion of asthmatic patients are not well controlled despite the efficacy of current available treatment.

100 years of immunotherapy: the Monaco charter. under the high patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Aims of the Monaco Charter: (1) to present the current evidence on the efficacy and safety of allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) and to address the reasons for its underuse in clinical practice; (2) to develop strategies to increase the awareness about the benefits and the hazards of SIT in allergic patients, lay public and healthcare professionals not trained in allergy, and (3) to make SIT accessible and affordable to eligible patients.

Patients with asthma and comorbid allergic rhinitis: is optimal quality of life achievable in real life?

Objectives: Asthma trials suggest that patients reaching total disease control have an optimal Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). Moreover, rhinitis is present in almost 80% of asthmatics and impacts asthma control and patient HRQoL. We explored whether optimal HRQoL was reachable in a real-life setting, and evaluated the disease and patient related patterns associated to optimal HRQoL achievement.

Disability in COPD and its relationship to clinical and patient-reported outcomes.

Objective: To assess the presence of disability in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and its relationships with disease severity, comorbidities, and patient-reported outcomes.

Research Design And Method: COPD outpatients completed validated questionnaires designed to investigate illness perception, well-being, quality of life, and stress, while physicians collected data concerning disability, dyspnea, and comorbidities (Charlson Index).

Results: Of 164 patients, 37.

Asthma management failure: a flaw in physicians' behavior or in patients' knowledge?

Objectives: Patient-physician communication and patients' knowledge about asthma are relevant factors that influence health outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore general practitioners' (GPs) behaviors, asthma patients' knowledge requirements, and the relationship between physicians' communicative issues, and failures in patients' knowledge.

Methods: GPs participating in a continuing medical education program on asthma completed an ad hoc survey on communicative style and recruited at least three adult asthma patients to indicate, among 10 options, three aspects of asthma about which they felt less informed.

Pitfalls in respiratory allergy management: alexithymia and its impact on patient-reported outcomes.

Objectives: Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by a limited ability to identify and express emotions and it represents a possible risk factor for disease development and management. The objective of the study is to evaluate alexithymia in patients with persistent asthma and comorbid rhinitis and its relation with patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Methods: Alexithymia, quality of life, illness perception, and stress were assessed, as well as rhinitis symptoms and asthma control in out-patients classified according to GINA and ARIA guidelines.

CD40 on adult human airway epithelial cells: expression and proinflammatory effects.

CD40/CD40 ligand interaction is an important pathway for B and T cell cooperation and function; functional CD40 molecules have recently been found on nonhematopoietic cells. We detected CD40 in vivo on normal human respiratory epithelial cells and showed that its expression is increased on inflamed airway epithelium. Subsequently, we analyzed its expression and function on primary cultures of human airway epithelial cells.