Use of spirometry and recording of smoking habits of COPD patients increased in primary health care during national COPD programme

BACKGROUND: In Finland, a national programme for COPD prevention and treatment was developed in 1998. The main goals of the programme were to diagnose COPD as early as possible and to encourage people to quit smoking. The role of primary health care was emphasized in the programme. Our aim was to investigate the use of spirometry and recording of smoking habits of COPD patients in primary health care before and during the COPD programme. METHODS: We compared patients with respiratory symptoms or diseases visiting primary health care during 1997 (before programme) and 2002 (during programme). Patients with respiratory symptoms were divided into two groups: COPD patients and "others". Patient records were thoroughly investigated and data retrieved from them. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the whole study group from 8.0% to 38.9% in the use of spirometry (p < 0.001). This increase was significant both in the COPD group (from 32.0% to 79.6%, p < 0.001) and "others" (from 5.6% to 32.8%, p < 0.001). Written information on smoking habits in patient records increased from 16.6% of all patients in 1997 to 53.2% in 2002 (p < 0.001), and in COPD group from 45.0% to 84.3% (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We observed a significant increase in the use of spirometry and knowledge of smoking habits in COPD patients, which may be a result of the Finnish national COPD programme

Single-agent gemcitabine versus cisplatin-etoposide: Early results of a randomised phase II study in locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer

Background This randomised study was designed to determine the response rate, survival and toxicity of single-agent gemcitabine and cisplatin-etoposide in chemo-naïve patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. Patients and methods Gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 was given as a 30 min intravenous infusion on days 1, 8, 15 of a 28-day cycle, cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on day 1, and etoposide 100 mg/m2 on days 1 (following cisplatin), 2 and 3. Major eligibility criteria included histologically confirmed non-small-cell lung cancer, measurable disease, Zubrod PS 0-2; no prior chemotherapy, no prior radiation of the measured lesion, and no CNS metastases. Results 146 patients were enrolled, 71 patients on gemcitabine and 75 patients on cisplatin-etoposide. Patient characteristics were well matched across both arms. Sixty-six gemcitabine patients and 72 cisplatin-etoposide patients were evaluable. Partial responses were seen in 12 gemcitabine patients (18.2%; 95% CI: 9.8-30) and 11 cisplatin-etoposide patients (15.3%; 95% CI: 7.9-25.7). Early indications show no statistical differences between the two treatments with respect to time to disease progression or survival. Haematological and laboratory toxicity were moderate and manageable. However, hospitalisation because of neutropenic fever was required for 6 (8%) cisplatin-etoposide patients but not for any gemcitabine patients. Non-haematological toxicity was more pronounced with significant differences in nausea and vomiting (grade 3 and 4: 11% gemcitabine vs. 29% cisplatin-etoposide; despite the allowance for 5-HT3 antiemetics during the first cycle of cisplatin-etoposide), and alopecia (grade 3 and 4: 3% gemcitabine vs. 62% cisplatin-etoposide). Conclusions In this randomised study, single-agent gemcitabine was at least as active but better tolerated than the combination cisplatin-etoposid

Prophylactic antibiotic therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

BACKGROUND: There has been renewal of interest in the use of prophylactic antibiotics to reduce the frequency of exacerbations and improve quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVES: To determine whether or not regular (continuous, intermittent or pulsed) treatment of COPD patients with prophylactic antibiotics reduces exacerbations or affects quality of life. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Airways Group Trials Register and bibliographies of relevant studies. The latest literature search was performed on 27 July 2018. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared prophylactic antibiotics with placebo in patients with COPD. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used the standard Cochrane methods. Two independent review authors selected studies for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. We resolved discrepancies by involving a third review author. MAIN RESULTS: We included 14 studies involving 3932 participants in this review. We identified two further studies meeting inclusion criteria but both were terminated early without providing results. All studies were published between 2001 and 2015. Nine studies were of continuous macrolide antibiotics, two studies were of intermittent antibiotic prophylaxis (three times per week) and two were of pulsed antibiotic regimens (e.g. five days every eight weeks). The final study included one continuous, one intermittent and one pulsed arm. The antibiotics investigated were azithromycin, erythromycin, clarithromycin, doxycyline, roxithromycin and moxifloxacin. The study duration varied from three months to 36 months and all used intention-to-treat analysis. Most of the pooled results were of moderate quality. The risk of bias of the included studies was generally low.The studies recruited participants with a mean age between 65 and 72 years and mostly at least moderate-severity COPD. Five studies only included participants with frequent exacerbations and two studies recruited participants requiring systemic steroids or antibiotics or both, or who were at the end stage of their disease and required oxygen. One study recruited participants with pulmonary hypertension secondary to COPD and a further study was specifically designed to asses whether eradication of Chlamydia pneumoniae reduced exacerbation rates.The co-primary outcomes for this review were the number of exacerbations and quality of life.With use of prophylactic antibiotics, the number of participants experiencing one or more exacerbations was reduced (odds ratio (OR) 0.57, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.78; participants = 2716; studies = 8; moderate-quality evidence). This represented a reduction from 61% of participants in the control group compared to 47% in the treatment group (95% CI 39% to 55%). The number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome with prophylactic antibiotics given for three to 12 months to prevent one person from experiencing an exacerbation (NNTB) was 8 (95% CI 5 to 17). The test for subgroup difference suggested that continuous and intermittent antibiotics may be more effective than pulsed antibiotics (P = 0.02, I² = 73.3%).The frequency of exacerbations per patient per year was also reduced with prophylactic antibiotic treatment (rate ratio 0.67; 95% CI 0.54 to 0.83; participants = 1384; studies = 5; moderate-quality evidence). Although we were unable to pool the result, six of the seven studies reporting time to first exacerbation identified an increase (i.e. benefit) with antibiotics, which was reported as statistically significant in four studies.There was a statistically significant improvement in quality of life as measured by the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) with prophylactic antibiotic treatment, but this was smaller than the four unit improvement that is regarded as being clinically significant (mean difference (MD) -1.94, 95% CI -3.13 to -0.75; participants = 2237; studies = 7, high-quality evidence).Prophylactic antibiotics showed no significant effect on the secondary outcomes of frequency of hospital admissions, change in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), serious adverse events or all-cause mortality (moderate-quality evidence). There was some evidence of benefit in exercise tolerance, but this was driven by a single study of lower methodological quality.The adverse events that were recorded varied among the studies depending on the antibiotics used. Azithromycin was associated with significant hearing loss in the treatment group, which was in many cases reversible or partially reversible. The moxifloxacin pulsed study reported a significantly higher number of adverse events in the treatment arm due to the marked increase in gastrointestinal adverse events (P < 0.001). Some adverse events that led to drug discontinuation, such as development of long QTc or tinnitus, were not significantly more frequent in the treatment group than the placebo group but pose important considerations in clinical practice.The development of antibiotic resistance in the community is of major concern. Six studies reported on this, but we were unable to combine results. One study found newly colonised participants to have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. Participants colonised with moxifloxacin-sensitive pseudomonas at initiation of therapy rapidly became resistant with the quinolone treatment. A further study with three active treatment arms found an increase in the degree of antibiotic resistance of isolates in all three arms after 13 weeks treatment. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Use of continuous and intermittent prophylactic antibiotics results in a clinically significant benefit in reducing exacerbations in COPD patients. All studies of continuous and intermittent antibiotics used macrolides, hence the noted benefit applies only to the use of macrolide antibiotics prescribed at least three times per week. The impact of pulsed antibiotics remains uncertain and requires further research.The studies in this review included mostly participants who were frequent exacerbators with at least moderate-severity COPD. There were also older individuals with a mean age over 65 years. The results of these studies apply only to the group of participants who were studied in these studies and may not be generalisable to other groups.Because of concerns about antibiotic resistance and specific adverse effects, consideration of prophylactic antibiotic use should be mindful of the balance between benefits to individual patients and the potential harms to society created by antibiotic overuse. Monitoring of significant side effects including hearing loss, tinnitus, and long QTc in the community in this elderly patient group may require extra health resources

Vaikean atooppisen ekseeman nykyhoito

Vaikean atooppisen ekseeman tehokas hoito on tärkeää, koska sairauteen liittyy merkittävää elämänlaadun sekä työ- ja toimintakyvyn heikkenemistä.Hoito etenee paikallishoitojen ja valohoitojen kautta systeemilääkkeisiin, joita ovat perinteiset ­immuunisalpaajat sekä uudet biologiset lääkkeet ja JAK:n estäjät.IL-4-reseptorivasta-aine dupilumabi, IL-13-vasta-aine tralokinumabi sekä JAK:n estäjät barisitinibi ja ­upadasitinibi ovat uusia vaikean atooppisen ekseeman hoitoon tarkoitettuja lääkkeitä.Kun vaikea atooppinen ekseema ei reagoi asianmukaisesti toteutettuun paikallishoitoon, ­potilas tulee lähettää erikoislääkärille systeemihoidon arvioon.</div

Vaikean atooppisen ekseeman nykyhoito

Vertaisarvioitu. English summary.• Vaikean atooppisen ekseeman tehokas hoito on tärkeää, koska sairauteen liittyy merkittävää elämänlaadun sekä työ- ja toimintakyvyn heikkenemistä. • Hoito etenee paikallishoitojen ja valohoitojen kautta systeemilääkkeisiin, joita ovat perinteiset ¬immuunisalpaajat sekä uudet biologiset lääkkeet ja JAK:n estäjät. • IL-4-reseptorivasta-aine dupilumabi, IL-13-vasta-aine tralokinumabi sekä JAK:n estäjät barisitinibi ja ¬upadasitinibi ovat uusia vaikean atooppisen ekseeman hoitoon tarkoitettuja lääkkeitä. • Kun vaikea atooppinen ekseema ei reagoi asianmukaisesti toteutettuun paikallishoitoon, ¬potilas tulee lähettää erikoislääkärille systeemihoidon arvioon.Peer reviewe

Pistiäisallergian siedätyshoito on turvallista ja tehokasta

VertaisarvioituAmpiainen aiheuttaa Suomessa suurimman osan pistiäisen pistoihin liittyvistä anafylaksioista. Diagnostiikka on tärkeää sekä pistiäisen tunnistamiseksi että herkistymisen osoittamiseksi. Allergian osoittamiseen käytetään immunoglobuliini E -luokan vasta-aineita ampiaisen ja mehiläisen myrkylle sekä niiden allergeenikomponenteille. Kaikilta yleisreaktion saaneilta tutkitaan seerumin tryptaasin perustaso mastosytoosin poissulkemiseksi. Siedätyshoitoa suositellaan niille, jotka ovat saaneet piston yhteydessä yleistyneen allergisen reaktion.Peer reviewe

Pistiäisallergian siedätyshoito on turvallista ja tehokasta

• Ampiainen aiheuttaa Suomessa suurimman osan pistiäisen pistoihin liittyvistä anafylaksioista. • Diagnostiikka on tärkeää sekä pistiäisen tunnistamiseksi että herkistymisen osoittamiseksi. • Allergian osoittamiseen käytetään immunoglobuliini E -luokan vasta-aineita ampiaisen ja mehiläisen myrkylle sekä niiden allergeenikomponenteille. • Kaikilta yleisreaktion saaneilta tutkitaan seerumin tryptaasin perustaso mastosytoosin poissulkemiseksi. • Siedätyshoitoa suositellaan niille, jotka ovat saaneet piston yhteydessä yleistyneen allergisen reaktion.</p