Allergies & Asthma

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

The titanium on a pacemaker caused an allergic reaction that led to a woman’s asthma, according to a case study. The patient: a 58-year-old woman who developed wheezing, chest tightness, and worsening dyspnea on minimal exertion 3 weeks after implantation of a permanent pacemaker. She was a non-smoker with a history of seasonal allergies in

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is one of the more puzzling phenomena in immunology, in part because, even though it’s an autoimmune disease involving complement dysregulation, it’s generally treated by allergists because its symptoms impersonate those of severe allergic reactions. At the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology’s annual meeting — cancelled because of concerns surrounding

Allergy to penicillin — at least as reported by patients — is both common and a challenge to clinicians, who must then decide what to prescribe for patients with infections. Several presentations on penicillin allergy were scheduled for presentation at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology annual meeting, cancelled because of concerns surrounding

earn free cme credit Earn CME credit by reading this article and completing the posttest. Sign Up Study Authors: Claudia C. Dobler, Allison S. Morrow, et al. Target Audience and Goal Statement: Pulmonologists, infectious disease specialists, emergency department physicians, hospitalists The goal of this study was to evaluate the comparative effectiveness and adverse events (AEs)

Atopic dermatitis, a.k.a. eczema, remains a major clinical problem despite a growing number of agents approved to treat it. At the now-cancelled American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology’s annual meeting (shuttered because of COVID-19), many of the scheduled research presentations addressed the topic. Here are some of the most interesting. Many Patients May Need

With the cancellation of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology’s annual meeting on account of the COVID-19 outbreak, MedPage Today is reviewing some of the research abstracts that were scheduled for presentation. Here are some highlights of those focusing on asthma in children and adolescents. Parents’ Stress, Kids’ Breathing Trouble When minority parents

African-American and Hispanic adults with asthma were more likely to be treated in the emergency department (ED) than non-Hispanic whites, but were less likely to report on uncontrolled daytime symptoms of asthma, according to research from the cancelled American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting. “After controlling for factors including income, education,

Epinephrine auto-injectors are the mainstay of emergency treatment for anaphylactic allergic reactions, but despite many years of widespread use, important questions about them remain unanswered. At the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting that was supposed to have occurred last weekend — cancelled, like many others, as a precaution to prevent

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting may have been cancelled, but more than 800 abstracts were scheduled for presentation and are now published. Here are some of the highlights regarding allergies to pollen, pets, and household dust. School Desktops, Cafeteria Floors: What’s in That Dust? Many parents of food-allergic children

“It’s not an on-off switch, it’s a dimmer.” — Nancy Messonnier, MD, CDC’s director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, on whether containment strategies get dropped in lieu of mitigation strategies as the COVID-19 outbreak spreads. “There’s still a lot of unanswered questions.” — Yuko Hara, PhD, of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery

Children with asthma were more likely to have co-occurring type 1 diabetes, but the reverse was not true, according to a Swedish registry study. Among more than one million children, those with asthma had a small but significant increased risk of being subsequently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes compared with children who did not have

Note that some links may require subscriptions. It’s been 3 weeks since the last Ebola case was diagnosed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and “we are now in the countdown to the end of the outbreak,” said the World Health Organization’s director-general on Monday. Hoping to stem the COVID-19 outbreak, Italy broadened its

The CDC on Monday recommended that individuals at the highest risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19 have adequate stores of food, needed medicines, and other essential supplies, and that they limit travel to minimize exposure to the novel coronavirus as the outbreak spreads across the nation. “In the setting where it’s really clear

Exclusive breastfeeding during the first 3 months of life was associated with significant reduction in respiratory allergies among children at age 6, according to a longitudinal study. Analysis of data from 1,177 mother-child pairs in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II) demonstrated that 6-year-olds who were exclusively breastfed were 23% less likely than

WASHINGTON — Concerned about “continued reports of suicide” and other neuropsychiatric events among users of the allergy and asthma drug montelukast (Singulair), the FDA is moving previous warnings about these risks into a black box, the agency said Wednesday. “The boxed warning advises health care providers to avoid prescribing montelukast for patients with mild symptoms,

Antibiotic therapy was associated with significantly reduced treatment failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients experiencing mild exacerbations, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. In 68 randomized controlled trials of patients with moderate to severe exacerbations, antibiotics and systemic corticosteroids were associated with improved symptoms and less treatment failure versus placebo or management

[embedded content] A student buys sushi from the gas station for breakfast. Is this what sent him to the hospital — or was it his penchant toward garbage picking for food? Watch the analysis of this fishy case. Read the transcript below: TB is a 22-year-old man, presenting to the emergency room with facial swelling,

Note that some links may require subscriptions. More than 300 Americans quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan returned home on Monday, with 14 confirmed coronavirus cases among them. (NBC News) Shanghai doctors are reporting promising early results treating infected COVID-19 patients with the blood of those who recovered from the illness. (Reuters)

Sometimes, old ideas and time-tested treatments remain the best. Newer doesn’t always mean better. Except in the case of one of our oldest antihistamines, tried-and-true Benadryl. It is time for that old drug to be retired, sent off to pasture, and never used again. Goodbye, Benadryl. Fare thee well, adieu, and don’t let the door