AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY JOURNAL NEWS TIPS FOR OCTOBER
EXPERIMENTAL COLD VIRUS CAUSES ASTHMA TO WORSEN
For the first time, U.S. and Dutch researchers have proven that asthmatics deliberately injected with a cold virus had increased airway wall swelling and obstruction. Nineteen of 27 adult non-smoking subjects with mild asthma who participated in the study were innoculated with rhinovirus 16, while eight received a placebo injection. From the day of the viral injection to day three, participants who performed lung function tests at home showed airway obstruction associated with higher cold symptom and asthma scores. The study appears in the October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
SURFACTANT LUNG "CLEANSING" FOR ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME
"Cleansing" of the lungs with dilute synthetic surfactant could offer a new, safe, and feasible approach to improve the outlook for patients suffering from deadly acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This life-threatening disorder results from illnesses or injuries that cause fluid accumulation in the lung. The fatality rate for ARDS runs from 40 to 60 percent due to serious oxygen deprivation. The researchers "washed out" 19 segments of the lung with artificial surfactant, using a bronchoscope, and then suctioned the material out within 10 to 30 seconds. After instillation, patients showed improved oxygenation and required lower ventilator settings. The research appears in the October American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
PHYSICIANS IN THE NETHERLANDS LEARN TO IMPROVE ASTHMA CARE, BUT NOT IN SWEDEN
A four-nation educational intervention involving peer groups of physicians examining their own knowledge of asthma and their own prescribing techniques led to improvements in treating asthma in several European countries. The information the physicians received was based on national and international published asthma care guidelines. In peer-group discussions, doctors in the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Slovakia gave feedback to each other about prescribing for asthma and their underlying decision-making strategies connected with individual cases. The largest behavior changes through improved treatment for patients came from physicians in the Netherlands, with improvements also in Norway and Slovakia. No significant effect was observed for Swedish physicians. The study appears in the October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
For the complete text of the articles, see the ATS Journal Online WebSite at www.atsjournals.org. To request complimentary journalist access to the site, or to be put on a mailing list for a monthly ATS Media Memo and News Briefs, please contact Lori Atkins at (212) 315-6442, by fax at (212) 315-6455, or at [email protected].
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