Asthma

Sande Okelo, MD, leads a discussion on the updates in the GINA 2021 report regarding difficult-to-treat and severe asthma, as well as considerations for GINA Step 4 and 5 treatment approaches.

The expert panel discusses the use of biologics in treating asthma, explaining their mechanisms of action, differences, and target populations, while also examining trends in long-term efficacy and safety for patients with severe or uncontrolled asthma.

The key opinion leaders explore the utilization of biomarkers in guiding the treatment of severe or uncontrolled asthma, discussing the specific role of eosinophils in informing therapeutic decision-making for patients with challenging asthma cases.

Sande Okelo, MD, outlines the factors that contribute to the overuse of oral corticosteroids (OCS), such as nonadherence, poor inhaler technique, inappropriate prescription, and comorbidities, while also discussing strategies to limit OCS overuse and acknowledging that undertreatment can also be a significant issue.

The panel addresses the issue of patients being exposed to high levels of oral corticosteroids (OCS) without realizing it, as various prescribers can administer steroids. They also discuss the essential questions healthcare professionals should ask to comprehend a patient's total OCS exposure and provide a definition of high OCS use.

The key opinion leaders deliberate on the criteria used to classify a patient as having moderate or severe asthma, as well as the factors that determine when a patient's asthma is deemed uncontrolled—including the use of combination therapy and daily symptoms.

The panelists explore the significance of type 2 inflammation in asthma, including its role and associated markers, while also delving into their approach to assessing patients whose asthma is triggered or worsened by allergies, examining markers beyond IgE and noting the frequency of patients presenting with asthma symptoms during allergy season without actually having allergic asthma.

S Shahzad Mustafa, MD, discusses various asthma endotypes and phenotypes, considering factors such as race, age of onset, gender, BMI, and lung function test results.

Nicole Chase, MD; S Shahzad Mustafa, MD; Sande Okelo, MD, and Robert Sporter, MD, examine the distinct manifestations of asthma stemming from allergic and non-allergic origins, as well as the factors contributing to its exacerbation.

Lovinsky-Desir joins Lungcast on World Asthma Day to discuss community-specific burdens of disease, and emerging strategies to manage it.

Balmes discusses the latest annual State of the Air Report, which shows that 131 million Americans are living in areas with failing air quality grades.

This analysis looked at the potential connection between SARS-CoV-2 test positivity and new asthma diagnoses.

The FDA approval of benralizumab for patients ages 6 to 11 with asthma follows the conclusions of the phase 3 TATE study.

This analysis highlights trends following the significant update made to the Global Initiative for Asthma and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute asthma guidelines.

In this new research, different populations of Black and Latinx individuals are facing long-term impacts of air pollution in the city of Austin.

On March 07, 2024, Boehringer Ingelheim announced it would be instituting a $35 per month out-of-pocket cost cap for its portfolio of inhaler products, with this cap going into effect on June 01, 2024.

These mental health outcomes were seen among those with self-reported COPD and asthma, though not among individuals with objective diagnoses based on spirometry.

This is the first instance in which a patient without a response to sequential bronchial thermoplasty, dupilumab, benralizumab, and mepolizumab ended up with a strong clinical response to tezepelumab.

These findings, to be presented at AAAAI, may help to expand upon clinicians’ awareness of the mechanics of air pollution’s effect on asthma.

This analysis, to be presented at AAAAI, suggests that adolescents’ attendance of daycare may lead to decreased IgE levels and diminished food and aeroallergen sensitization rates.

These data may allow for future research into the ways in which adolescent patients may better control their allergic condition.

This review and meta-analysis yielded results which confirmed prior data on maternal asthma and neonatal outcomes, in addition to establishing several new findings.

While this research did culminate in strong evidence regarding weight loss and its effects on lung airway responses, the precise mechanism for this phenomenon remains unknown.

From breakthroughs in disease intervention and vaccines, to global developments in air quality and COVID-19, Lungcast reflects on the people and stories that shaped this year in pulmonology.

Lungcast is joined by an environmental engineer to discuss the burden of harmful air in US school systems today.