Bronchial Thermoplasty May Allow Patients With Severe Asthma

Bronchial Thermoplasty May Allow Patients With Severe Asthma To Be Weaned Off Of LABAs. Medscape (11/23, Lowry) reported, "Bronchial thermoplasty, a technique that uses radiofrequency energy to reduce excessive airway smooth muscle mass, which in turn improves control of asthma symptoms, may allow patients with severe asthma to be weaned off of long-acting β-agonists (LABAs)." In fact, "data from the Asthma Intervention Research (AIR) trial," which was previously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, "showed that patients with moderate or severe asthma who were treated with the novel technique showed improvement in symptoms and quality-of-life scores and in pulmonary function tests. Patients also used less medication, particularly inhaled corticosteroids and LABAs

Unusual Asthma Symptoms

While most people consider "wheezing" the key sign of asthma, there are also other, more unusual asthma symptoms. For instance, a dry, hacking cough that persists may actually be a symptom of asthma. Chest tightness and difficulty breathing in the early morning hours can also be asthma symptoms. Likewise, constant sighing may be associated with asthma.

Unusual asthma symptoms may include:

Rapid breathing
Sighing
Fatigue; inability to exercise properly
Difficulty sleeping
Anxiety; difficulty concentrating
Chronic cough without wheezing (cough-variant asthma)

To complicate matters, asthma symptoms are not consistent and often vary from time to time in an individual. As an example, you might experience asthma primarily at night -- known as nocturnal asthma -- rather than during the day.

Furthermore, episodes of asthma can be triggered by many different factors such as allergens, dust, smoke, cold air, exercise, infections, medications, and acid reflux. Finally, other health conditions such as heart failure, bronchitis, and dysfunction of the vocal cords can cause symptoms that mimic those of asthma, yet these conditions are not asthma. For these reasons,
accurately diagnosing asthma and effective asthma treatment can be a challenge for you and your asthma doctor.

Having episodes of dry hacking cough for a long time, it may be a sign of asthma. Other unusual symptoms of asthma are:

• Chest tightness and difficulty breathing in the early morning hours,
• Constant sighing,
• Rapid breathing,
• Fatigue;
• Inability to exercise properly
• Difficulty sleeping
• Anxiety; difficulty
• Concentrating
• Vomiting after bout of coughing in a child

asthma symptoms

Full-blown attack of asthma usually has following symptoms:
Wheezing
Coughing (specially in night)
Shortness of breath
Tightness of the chest, pain or pressure.


Asthma
Asthma Cause
Asthma Symptoms
Asthma Diagnosis
Asthma Treatment

What are the complications/ risks of surgery in Asthma patient?
Patients who have asthma are at risk for specific complications during and after surgery. These complications include:
Acute bronchoconstriction triggered by intubation,
Hypoxemia and
Possible hypercapnia,
Impaired effectiveness of cough,
Atelectasis, and
Respiratory infection
Latex exposure (allergy)
Allergy to some anesthetic agents
The likelihood of these complications depends on the severity of the patient’s airway
hyperresponsiveness, airflow obstruction, mucus hypersecretions, latex sensitivity, and history of prior surgeries, because the latter is a risk factor for both latex and anesthetic agent sensitivities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What are the actions to be taken before surgery in asthma patients:
Patients who have asthma should have an evaluation before surgery that includes a review of symptoms, medication use (particularly the use of oral systemic corticosteroids for longer than 2 weeks in the past 6 months), and measurement of pulmonary function.
If possible, attempts should be made to improve lung function preoperatively (FEV1 or peak expiratory flow rate [PEFR]) to either their predicted values or their personal best level. A short course of oral systemic corticosteroids may be necessary to optimize lung function.
For patients who have received oral systemic corticosteroids during the past 6 months and for selected patients on a long-term high dose of an ICS, give 100 mg hydrocortisone every 8 hours intravenously during the surgical period and reduce the dose rapidly within 24 hours after surgery.
Stress doses of corticosteroids may be considered for select patients treated with prior high-dose ICS therapy as well, because clinically important adrenal suppression has been reported in such patients, particularly children.

Asthma
Asthma Cause
Asthma Symptoms
Asthma Diagnosis

Asthma
Aspirin May Cut Asthma Risk in Women...
Reuters Health reported on March 13 that a 100-milligram dose of aspirin taken every other day appears to reduce the risk of asthma in women, according to the results of a large trial. Still, the researchers emphasize that more studies are needed before aspirin can be recommended solely for this purpose. The findings, which are reported in the medical journal Thorax, indicate a 10 percent reduction in asthma risk with aspirin use, although this beneficial effect was not seen in obese women. There has been a rise in the occurrence of asthma over the last few decades, Dr. Tobias Kurth and colleagues note in their report. At the same time, giving aspirin to children fell in popularity after it was linked to a condition called Reye's syndrome. This has led some researchers to speculate that aspirin may protect against the development of asthma.
Study Links Popcorn Flavoring to Lung Disease...
MSNBC reported on March 13 that a chemical used to give butter flavor to popcorn can damage the lungs and airways of mice, U.S. government experts reported on Thursday. Tests on mice show that diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can cause a condition known as lymphocytic bronchiolitis, said the team at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. The condition can lead to obliterative bronchiolitis — or "popcorn lung" — a rare and debilitating disease seen in workers at microwave popcorn packaging plants and at least one consumer.
Moms Who Stop Smoking Have Happier Babies
Reuters reported on March 12 that mothers who stop smoking while pregnant tend to have cheerier, more adaptable babies, British researchers reported on Wednesday. Babies of women who continued to smoke while pregnant were notably grumpy, and the researchers believe that mothers who can muster the effort to kick the habit are also caring more for their babies in other ways. Babies of non-smokers also more temperamental than babies born to quitters, the researchers found â€" which they said suggested that mothers who suspend smoking are doing something special.
Secondhand Smoke Hikes Tots' Risk of Heart Disease..
US News & World Report reported on March 13 that secondhand smoke causes signs of cardiovascular damage in children, especially the very youngest, new research contends. The findings, which focused on children from 2 to 14 years old, showed that environmental tobacco exposure (second-hand smoke) caused increased markers of inflammation and signs of vascular injury, suggesting an increased risk of heart disease. The youngest children appeared to be more affected than teens.
Acid-Blocking Therapy in Pregnancy Increases Infant's Asthma Risk
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters Health) Mar 18 - Acid-blocking therapy during pregnancy increases the risk of asthma in the infant by more than 50%, researchers reported here during a late-breaking clinical trials session at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology."This was seen with asthma only," Dr. Yen told meeting attendees. There was no increase in risk of other allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, food allergies, allergic rhinitis or "unspecified allergic reactions or anaphylaxis."
Sublingual immunotherapy effective for bee sting and peanuts.
March 18, 2008 (Philadelphia) — Immunity against potentially fatal allergies to honeybee stings or peanuts can be achieved without years of painful injections, and possibly without the need for office visits. Two studies presented here at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2008 Annual Meeting — one using sublingual immunotherapy for induction of immunity to honeybee stings, the other using the oral route to induce immunity to peanuts — showed safety and efficacy.Sublingual immunotherapy works against asthma, atopic dermatitis, rubber latex, and other allergies. It has been first time tested against bee sting and peanuts.
Asthma Patients Should Not Take Drug Holiday From Maintenance Therapy
March 18, 2008 (Philadelphia) — Not taking a summer break from maintenance therapy with fluticasone propionate/salmeterol inhalation therapy will help prevent the autumn increase of hospital admissions and visits to the emergency department (ED) for asthma attacks.Researchers reported here at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2008 Annual Meeting that children and young adults account for a large number of these fall hospital visits.
Visit Asthma Helpline to know asthma better click>> Asthma