Allergies & Asthma

Very early introduction of high-dose gluten was associated with a lower prevalence of celiac disease at 3 years of age in a prespecified secondary analysis from the Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) infant food allergy prevention trial. None of the infants in the analysis randomized to the gluten early introduction arm of the study had developed

The FDA issued a warning Thursday against taking diphenhydramine (Benadryl) at more than recommended doses, following accounts of at least one teen dying from overuse. The agency is investigating reports of teens who have been hospitalized and died after taking part in the latest social media craze encouraging youth to consume a dangerous amount of

earn free cme credit Earn CME credit by reading this article and completing the posttest. Sign Up Study Authors: Cornelia A. Verberkt, Marieke H.J. van den Beuken-van Everdingen, et al.; Eric W. Widera Target Audience and Goal Statement: Pulmonologists, pain management specialists, primary care physicians, public health and policy experts The goal of this study

Note that some links may require registration or subscription. The Pentagon took some of the money meant for spending on masks and swabs for the COVID-19 pandemic and spent it on jet engine parts and body armor instead. (Washington Post) British prime minister Boris Johnson has ordered a 10 p.m. curfew for bars and restaurants,

In patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, add-on mepolizumab (Nucala) reduced both polyp size and the need for surgery in the SYNAPSE study, a researcher reported. In the 52-week, phase III, multicenter trial, treatment with the IL-5 inhibitor biologic was associated with a 57% reduction in the need for surgery versus placebo in patients

Fixed-dose triple therapy with fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (Trelegy Ellipta) improved lung function in adults whose asthma was uncontrolled with an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting beta-agonist (LABA), the CAPTAIN study showed. On Wednesday, based on findings from the trial, the FDA approved the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment at two different doses for adults 18 and

Specific genetic alterations in children and teens with asthma may identify those who will not benefit from treatment with the long-acting β2-adrenergic receptor agonist (LABA) salmeterol, a researcher reported. For the study, 241 children and teens (age 12-18) with asthma taking inhaled corticosteroids were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive personalized care (prescribing by rs1042713 genotype)

Vitamin D3 supplementation added to low-dose inhaled corticosteroids was not associated with longer time to asthma exacerbations among high-risk children with low baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, researchers reported. The mean time to exacerbation was 240 days in children randomized to the vitamin D3 supplementation group and 253 days in the placebo group (mean group difference

Rural healthcare access in the U.S. continues to suffer due to problems with affordability, former agriculture secretary Mike Espy, now the Democratic candidate for a Senate seat in Mississippi, said Tuesday at a virtual meeting of the Rural Council at the Democratic National Convention. “So many low-income persons are afraid to get sick, because when

Short-term treatment with a low-dose opioid was associated with significantly improved health status in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with advanced disease and chronic breathlessness despite optimal pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatment. In a randomized trial of over 100 patients, twice daily treatment for 4 weeks with an oral sustained-release morphine (10 mg) was associated

As another so-called triple therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hits the market, pulmonologists and primary care physicians are beginning to consider which patients are most appropriate for these treatments, and how much added benefit these products offer relative to more conventional — and better understood — two-drug combinations. The FDA approved AstraZeneca’s fixed-dose,

Among older former cigarette smokers, a strong correlation was shown between smoking duration and health, with longer smoking history associated with greater risk for poor overall health, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic disease, according to CDC research. In national data, for people ages 65 and older who had once smoked but quit, a

Corticosteroid bursts as short as 2 weeks or less were still linked to severe adverse events among relatively healthy users, according to a large study from Taiwan. For people taking oral steroids over a median 3 days, the risk of such events was elevated in the 5-30 days after steroid therapy initiation compared with the

TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Rick Lange, MD, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, look at the top medical stories of the week. This week’s topics include antibody testing for COVID-19, Apgar score

“If you have something that is potentially beneficial, safe, and cheap, what do you have to lose?” — Paul Marik, MD, of Eastern Virginia Medical School, on quercetin’s potential place in COVID-19 treatment. “There’s a lot of thanks from the community when we do autopsies.” — Sharon Fox, MD, of Louisiana State University in New

Inhaled triple therapy with budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol showed a signal of reducing all-cause mortality in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at higher (320 μg) budesonide doses in newly reported findings from the large, multicenter, 52-week ETHOS trial. Two doses of the glucocorticoid — 160 μg and 320 μg —

When you say “fire ants,” people likely think about the bad news — painful stings, itching, and damage to crops. But some University of Virginia researchers now say the presence of this invasive insect species might also have an upside: reducing prevalence of red meat allergy caused by tick bites. Jeffrey Wilson, MD, PhD, and

The development of a subtype of inflammatory myopathy characterized by interstitial lung disease and positivity for a specific autoantibody was influenced by seasonality and place of residence, Japanese researchers found. Among patients with polymyositis or dermatomyositis (PM/DM) and the associated interstitial lung disease, symptom onset occurred most often from October to March for those with

earn free cme credit Earn CME credit by reading this article and completing the posttest. Sign Up Study Authors: Peter K. Lindenauer, Mihaela S. Stefan, et al.; Carolyn L. Rochester, Anne E. Holland Target Audience and Goal Statement: Pulmonologists, hospitalists The goal of this study was to determine the association between initiation of pulmonary rehabilitation

If you, like the Skeptical Cardiologist, suffer from asthma you may be wondering if you are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or developing more severe respiratory complications from the disease once infected. There are 25 million asthma sufferers in the United States, about 8% of the population, and many of us are using

Pulmonary rehabilitation within 3 months of hospital discharge was associated with a significant reduction in deaths at 1 year in a study involving 197,376 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. Peter Lindenauer, MD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Springfield, and co-researchers reported that fewer than 2% of patients

Exposure to synthetic endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in pesticides, nonstick cookware, and fire retardants was linked to increased risk for celiac disease in children and young adults in a small observational study. Overall, young people with higher serum concentrations of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) had twice the risk for developing celiac disease (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.07-3.78) after

People with asthma are classified as being at increased risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes, although evidence is emerging that may point in the opposite direction. Under normal circumstances, viral infections are a big driver of flares in asthma patients. But research indicates asthma patients with COVID-19 do not appear to have a higher rate of

This is the sixth story in a series by MedPage Today examining the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations. Past stories reported on the homeless, immigrants in detention, the undocumented, nursing home residents, and incarcerated individuals. With limited national data available to track COVID-19 outcomes by race, states and local municipalities started releasing their own

With the COVID-19 pandemic, non-critical care providers are being asked to assist the critical care community in caring for COVID-19 patients. Although many healthcare systems have been able to handle the burden and ensure the “ideal” care of patients solely by critical care specialists, some systems have been overwhelmed and an “all hands on deck”

Use of electronic cigarettes appeared to have stabilized among U.S. adults in 2018, with cigarette smokers who had recently kicked the habit reporting the highest rates of ever- and current e-cigarette use, according to national survey data. In 2018, 3.2% of surveyed adults (ages 18 and older) reported regular current e-cigarette use, which was the

WASHINGTON — The FDA approved the first generic version of the Proventil HFA albuterol inhaler, citing increased demand for this type of product as a treatment for COVID-19. The metered dose inhaler, made by Cipla Ltd., delivers 90 μg albuterol sulfate per puff; the approved indication is for “treatment or prevention of bronchospasm in patients

Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions in children and adults, with a prevalence of over 8% in U.S. children and 7% in adults. This translates to over 7 million children in the U.S. In 2007, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute released “Expert Panel Report-3” for the management of asthma. These