Meet GINA, Global INitiative for Asthma
TL:DR – Thanks to GINA I have not needed to use salbutamol to treat my asthma for three years at the time of writing.
It’s three years since my asthma nurse introduced me to GINA, the Global INitiative for Asthma. It was a phone consultation because the then new virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes what became known as COVID-19, was beginning to spread. At the time, I was very worried that it would be a killer for me given my asthma. Eventually, medical science learned that people with asthma were not necessarily at any greater risk of morbidity and mortality.
Anyway, it was nice to meet GINA. GINA contradicts some ...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - February 27, 2023 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Asthma Health and Medicine Pharma Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 75-year-old man with very severe COPD
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 75-year-old man is seen for routine follow-up for very severe COPD. He has constant dyspnea and air hunger and spends most of the day in a chair. He has had no change in baseline cough and sputum production. He has had multiple COPD exacerbations that required ICU admission and intubation. He has not benefited from pulmonary rehabilitation in the past. He quit smoking 3 years ago. His medical history is also notable for hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and a myocardial infarction 3 years ago. His medica...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 3, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions Palliative Care Pulmonology Source Type: blogs
High Tech Solution to Inhaler Compliance: Interview with Arik Anderson, CEO of Adherium
Patients taking inhaled medications, particularly those with asthma, have to comply with the prescribed regimen in order to achieve optimal results. As anyone in medical practice knows, medication compliance among patients can be remarkably low. Adherium, a company based in Auckland, New Zealand, has come up with technology to tackle this issue for patients using inhalers. We spoke with Arik Anderson, CEO of Adherium, about the company’s gadgets, how they help patients, and what potential the technology has in the future.
Medgadget: Please give us a short introduction to your technology from a clinician’s and p...
Source: Medgadget - January 22, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Exclusive Medicine Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
SmartTouch for Symbicort Smart Inhaler Cleared by FDA
Adherium, a company out of Auckland, New Zealand, won FDA clearance to introduce its SmartTouch for Symbicort device that monitors and promotes prescribed inhaler usage. Symbicort is an inhaled medication used to treat symptoms of asthma and COPD. The device is placed over the inhaler itself and, once paired with the patient’s smartphone, records every time the inhaler is used.
Usage of the medication is shared with the patient’s physician who can make medication changes based on the data. In addition, the app motivates the user to stay on the schedule in the prescription, helping to improve compliance in a pa...
Source: Medgadget - September 5, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Medicine Source Type: blogs
Welcome to my World: Perpetual Alarm Fatigue
By HANS DUVEFELT, MD
Part of a series on primary care challenges and their solutions.
I missed a drug interaction warning the other day when I prescribed a sulfa antibiotic to Barton, a COPD patient who is also taking dofetilide, an uncommon antiarrhythmic.
The pharmacy called me to question the prescription, and I quickly changed it to a cephalosporin.
The big red warning had popped up on my computer screen, but I x-ed it away with my right thumb on the trackball without reading the warning. Quite honestly, I am so used to getting irrelevant warnings that it has become a reflex to bring the cursor to the spot where I can ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - August 15, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Jennifer overcoming the mental health impairment of grains
You may remember Jennifer from her story describing her first 3 weeks on the Wheat Belly lifestyle: http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015/06/wheat-and-grains-make-you-sick/
Jennifer now provides us with an update on her progress:
“The difference 9 months makes. The top two are from last year. The bottom two are 4 weeks ago and 2 weeks ago. I wanted to give you an update.
“I am still dealing with some underlying health issues, however doing much better. I no longer have to take a slew of prescriptions –no Symbicort, rarely have to take nasal allergy spray or Zyrtek, have completely titrated myself off of p...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - July 25, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Success Stories allergy Depression gluten grains hypothyroidism sinusitis Source Type: blogs
Test your medicine knowledge: 72-year-old woman with COPD
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 72-year-old woman is evaluated during a routine examination. She has very severe COPD with multiple exacerbations. She has dyspnea at all times with decreased exercise capacity. She does not have cough or any change in baseline sputum production. She is adherent to her medication regimen, and she completed pulmonary rehabilitation 1 year ago. She quit smoking 1 year ago. Her medications are a budesonide/formoterol inhaler, tiotropium, and an albuterol inhaler as needed.
On physical examination, pulse rate is 9...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 27, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: mksap Tags: Conditions Pulmonology Source Type: blogs
Physician Payments Sunshine Act: Vermont Gift Ban and Disclosure Law Update
This report outlines the number of samples and expenditures, listed by manufacturer.
2014 Reports Due April 1, 2015
As a reminder, 2014 disclosures for expenditures and samples from January 1 – December 31, 2014 are due by April 1, 2015, using the following documents: 2014 Expenditures Disclosure Form and 2014 Samples Disclosure Form
Vermont’s Prescribed Products Gift Ban and Disclosure Law
As a background, Vermont law bans most gifts and requires manufacturers of prescribed products, including pharmaceuticals, biological products, and medical devices, to “disclose allowable expenditures and ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 25, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 72-year-old woman with severe COPD
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 72-year-old woman is evaluated during a routine examination. She has very severe COPD with multiple exacerbations. She has dyspnea at all times with decreased exercise capacity. She does not have cough or any change in baseline sputum production. She is adherent to her medication regimen, and she completed pulmonary rehabilitation 1 year ago. She quit smoking 1 year ago. Her medications are a budesonide/formoterol inhaler, tiotropium, and an albuterol inhaler as needed.
On physical examination, pulse rate is 9...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 1, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: mksap Tags: Conditions Pulmonology Source Type: blogs
GlaxoChinaGate contd. - so how's business?
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) said third-quarter sales of pharmaceuticals and vaccines in China fell 61 percent after an anti-corruption probe began there in July.
Sales of consumer health-care products in China fell 29 percent, the London-based company said today in a statement. Total revenue rose 1 percent to 6.51 billion pounds ($10.5 billion), compared with 6.64 billion pounds expected by analysts.
In China, a “dramatic decline” in Glaxo’s Seretide lung drug and Flixonase nasal spray has led to a rapid acceleration in sales of AstraZeneca Plc (AZN)’s Symbicort inhaler, Barclays Plc analysts said last week. China a...
Source: PharmaGossip - October 23, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Call Me Crazy? No, Thanks.
I thought I was overly emotional when I watched this particular show, but I recorded it to watch when I was lying in bed recovering from surgery. I didn't feel like watching it for a long time, but maybe two weeks ago I was folding the laundry on the bed, near the television where I'd decided to record MANY shows where I thought I'd be lying in bed just watching television recovering (didn't happen), I decided to see what it was all about. It was called Call Me Crazy, and I had heard it was supposed to help with breaking down the stigma of mental illness. Jennifer Aniston directed or produced or was invol...
Source: bipolar.and.me - May 20, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
So, I Guess We'll Go With Asthma.
I finally caved and went to my new family doctor today over my crazy exercise induced allergies that are so bizarre and I couldn't figure out. I did tons of internet research, so did my husband, and we found a lot of people with the same thing who couldn't find an answer.He came in and I was just embarrassed to be there AGAIN. Obviously we both know I'm healthy - I was just there for a physical and had blood work and I couldn't possibly be more healthy as far as those things are concerned. I had told him on a previous visit for some reason, I don't know why, about my issues with coughing in the past,...
Source: bipolar.and.me - April 11, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
