ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of triple aerosol inhalation of pulmicort respules,ipratropine and ventolin in treatment of severe acute asthma exacerbations in adults. Methods46 cases of severe asthmatic patients with acute exacerbations admitted between May 2011 and May 2013 were recruited in the study.They were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group,23 cases in each group.The control group received aminophylline and methylprednisolone intravenously,while the treatment group received triple aerosol inhalation of pulmicort respules,ipratropine and ventolin on the basic treatment of the control group.The clinical efficacy,the score of asthma symptom of the day and night,the time of disappearance of symptoms and wheezing sound,the glucocorticoid dosage and the incidence of adverse reactions of each group were compared. ResultsComparison of clinical efficacy of two groups drew significant differences (P<0.05) after 7 days.The score of asthma symptom of the day and night in the treatment group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05).Except cough,the duration of wheezing,breathlessness,chest distress and extinction time of wheezing sound in the treatment group were shorter than those in the control group (P<0.05).The triple inhalation therapy can reduce the dosage and shorten the period of intravenous glucocorticoid treatment with slight adverse reactions (P<0.05). ConclusionIn the treatment of severe asthmatic patients with acute exacerbations,the clinical efficacy of triple aerosol inhalation of pulmicort respules,ipratropine and ventolin on the base of intravenous treatment is satisfactory with rapid onset,which can also reduce the glucocorticoid dosage and the incidence of adverse reactions.So the combination therapy is worthy of clinical use.
ObjectiveTo determine the efficacy of omalizumab in patients (12~75 years of age) with severe allergic asthma, and guide its clinical application. MethodsDatabases, including Pubmed, Web of Science and Embase, were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs).Data were extracted, and the quality of included RCTs was assessed by two reviewers, followed by meta-analyses using Review Manage 5.1 software. ResultsMeta-analyses of ten included RCTs showed that, compared with placebo, omalizumab reduced the rate of exacerbation per patient during both stable-steroid phase [RR=0.56, 95% CI(0.42, 0.75), P < 0.000 1] and steroid-reduction phase for patients with severe asthma [RR=0.53, 95% CI(0.48, 0.60), P < 0.000 01], reduced the number of patients experienced at least one exacerbation [RR=0.71, 95% CI(0.61, 0.84), P < 0.000 01], and significantly reduced the dosage of beclomethasone dipropionate (≥50%) [RR=1.51, 95% CI(1.24, 1.84), P < 0.001].Omalizumab significantly improved asthma-related quality of life [RR=1.25, 95% CI(1.13, 1.38), P < 0.000 01], albeit no indications of omalizumab reducing the rate of emergency visits [RR=0.63, 95% CI(0.28, 1.44), P < 0.001]. ConclusionThe addition of omalizumab to standard asthma therapy reduces asthma exacerbations, decreases inhaled corticosteroid and rescue medication use, and improves the quality of life in severe asthma patients.
Objective To explore the clinical and inflammatory characteristics and risk factors of severe asthma to improve clinicians' awareness of the disease. Methods The general information of patients with asthma who visited the Department of Respiratory Medicine, the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from May 2018 to May 2021, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, personal history, comorbidities, auxiliary examination, asthma control test (ACT) score were collected. A total of 127 patients were included, including 40 in the severe asthma group and 87 in the mild-to-moderate asthma group. Chi-square test, independent sample t test and logistic regression were used to analyze the clinical characteristics, inflammatory markers and risk factors of severe asthma. Results Compared with the patients with mild to moderate asthma, the patients with severe asthma were more older (51.0±12.0 years vs 40.7±12.8 years, P<0.05), had more smokers (32.5% vs. 14.9%, P<0.05), and more males (67.5% vs. 40.2%, P<0.05). The patients with severe asthma got poor FEV1%pred [(56.1±23.8)% vs. (93.2±18.0)%, P<0.05] and FEV1/FVC [(56.7±13.2)% vs. (75.8±9.0)%, P<0.05)], and more exacerbations in the previous year (2.7±3.1 vs. 0.1±0.4, P<0.05), lower ACT score (14.4±3.7 vs. 18.0±5.0, P<0.05), and higher blood and induced sputum eosinophil counts [(0.54±0.44)×109/L vs. (0.27±0.32)×109/L, P<0.05; (25.9±24.2)% vs. (9.8±17.5)%, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in the proportion of neutrophils in the induced sputum or FeNO between the two groups (P>0.05). Analysis of related risk factors showed that smoking (OR=2.740, 95%CI 1.053 - 7.130), combined with allergic rhinitis (OR=14.388, 95%CI 1.486 - 139.296) and gastroesophageal reflux (OR=2.514, 95%CI 1.105 - 5.724) were risk factors for severe asthma. Conclusions Compared with patients with mild to moderate asthma, patients with severe asthma are characterized by poor lung function, more exacerbations, and a dominant eosinophil inflammatory phenotype, which is still poorly controlled even with higher level of treatment. Risk factors include smoking, allergic rhinitis, and gastroesophageal reflux, etc.