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Obstructive sleep apnea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Purpose of review: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) represent two of the most prevalent chronic respiratory disorders and cardiovascular diseases are major co-morbidities in both. Co-existence of both disorders (overlap syndrome) occurs in 1% of adults and overlap patients have worse nocturnal hypoxemia and hypercapnia than COPD and OSA patients alone. The present review discusses recent data concerning the pathophysiological and clinical significance of the overlap syndrome.

Recent findings: The severity of obstructive ventilatory impairment and hyperinflation, especially the inspiratory capacity to total lung capacity (TLC) ratio, correlates with the severity of sleep-related breathing disturbances. Early treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) improves survival, reduces hospitalization and pulmonary hypertension, and also reduces hypoxemia. Evidence of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in COPD and sleep apnea provides insight into potential interactions between both disorders that may predispose to cardiovascular disease. Long-term outcome studies of overlap patients currently underway should provide further evidence of the clinical significance of the overlap syndrome.

Summary: Studies of overlap syndrome patients at a clinical, physiological and molecular level should provide insight into disease mechanisms and consequences of COPD and sleep apnea, in addition to identifying potential relationships with cardiovascular disease.

The multiple dimensions of airways disease: targeting treatment to clinical phenotypes

Purpose of review: The recognition that asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not single diseases, but syndromes made up of multiple separate disorders that overlap, has led to attempts to develop a new taxonomy for the disorders of airflow obstruction. A better understanding of the distinct disorders of airways disease has the potential to inform on underlying mechanisms, risk factors, natural history, monitoring and treatment.

Recent findings: Recent attempts to describe the different phenotypes have largely been based on cluster analysis. Preliminary evidence suggests that there may be five distinct phenotypes of airways disease. To date, however, no simple allocation criteria have been validated that enable clinicians to allocate individual patients to specific phenotypic groups. The concept of differential treatment responses in different phenotypes of airways disease has been established with the demonstration that eosinophilic asthma preferentially responds to inhaled corticosteroid therapy or monoclonal antibody against interleukin-5, and severe refractory noneosinophilic asthma to macrolide antibiotics.

Summary: The priority is to further define the distinct phenotypes that make up the syndromes of asthma and COPD. This knowledge could lead to treatments specifically targeted for defined phenotypic groups, rather than for asthma and COPD in general, which represents the current management approach.

Clinical trials in allergic conjunctivits: a systematic review

Ocular allergy represents one of the most common conditions encountered by allergists and ophthalmologists. However, there is wide variability of study designs in clinical trials of allergic conjunctivitis, which results in conflicting evidence on their optimal management. We conducted a systematic review of clinical trials to critically evaluate their quality and to highlight biases to be avoided in future clinical research in ocular allergy.

Methods: Clinical trials in allergic conjunctivitis performed since 1965 were retrieved, and data on patients, interventions, comparison of interventions, and outcomes were extracted. Four authors independently assessed articles for inclusion in the systematic review and assessed trials’ quality using the Jadad scale.

Results: Three hundred and sixty-two trials were included in the study. Only a minority of trials fulfilled all the criteria of proper clinical trial design. In most of the studies, there was a very limited use of objective (quantifiable) parameters for both patients’ selection and evaluation of drug efficacy and safety. Several outcomes of primary importance, such as disease relapses and recurrence rate, were omitted in clinical trials of allergic conjunctivitis.

Conclusions: Evidence coming out of clinical trials in ocular allergy is limited, and this affects the strength of recommendations to health care providers and policy makers for optimal management. Standardized diagnostic criteria for patient selection and quantifiable primary outcomes are recommended to improve the design of future clinical trials in allergic conjunctivitis.

Aspergillus sensitization is associated with airflow limitation and bronchiectasis in severe asthma

Abnormalities, including bronchiectasis, that are detectable on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) have been associated with severe asthma. Bronchiectasis is associated with the diagnosis of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), which also occurs in patients with severe asthma. We sought to determine the frequency and pattern of HRCT abnormality and the relationship with Aspergillus fumigatus sensitization in one severe asthma population.

Methods: We examined our database of patients attending a supraregional severe asthma service (Manchester, UK). Clinical, physiological and immunological characteristics were compared between those with HRCT evidence of airway disease (specifically bronchiectasis) and those with no radiological abnormality.

Results: Of 133 patients analysed, 111 (83.4%) had an abnormal HRCT with bronchial wall thickening (41.3%), bronchiectasis (35.3%), air trapping (20.3%) and bronchial dilatation (16.5%) occurring most frequently. Radiological evidence of airway disease was associated with more obstructive spirometry (postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio 73.2%vs 64.8% [difference −8.5%, 95% CI −16.9 to −0.1, P = 0.048]). A. fumigatus sensitization was associated with a 2.01 increased hazard ratio of bronchiectasis (95% CI 1.26 to 3.22, P = 0.005), and more obstructive spirometry (postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio 57.6 vs 70.3 [difference −12.8, 95% CI −19.8 to −5.7, P = 0.001]). Patients with A. fumigatus sensitization had variable clinical and radiological characteristics that frequently did not conform to the conventional diagnostic criteria for ABPA.

Conclusion: Patients with severe asthma frequently have radiological abnormalities on HRCT. Sensitization to A. fumigatus is associated with bronchiectasis and greater airflow obstruction, even when diagnostic criteria for ABPA are not met.

Bronchodilation test in patients with allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis (AR) may be considered a risk factor for the onset of asthma. Recently, it has been reported that forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity (FEF25–75) may predict a positive response to bronchodilation test in asthmatic children. The aim of this study was to evaluate a large group of adult AR patients to investigate the frequency of response to bronchodilation test and FEF25–75 values.

Methods: One thousand four hundred and sixty-nine consecutive patients suffering from persistent AR were evaluated. Clinical examination, spirometry, and bronchodilation test were performed in all patients.

Results: In this study, 62.9% of patients had reversibility to bronchodilation test and 17.8% had impaired FEF25–75 values (≤65% of predicted). Impaired FEF25–75 values associated with longer rhinitis duration may predict reversibility to bronchodilation test (OR = 11.3; P < 0.001). In addition, a FEF25–75 cutoff value ≤71% of predicted may already discriminate patients with reversibility.

Conclusions: This study highlights that about two-thirds of patients with persistent AR may be considered at risk of becoming asthmatic. This finding should be adequately considered as a precocious spirometry may allow the early detection of patients prone to develop asthma and consequently to treat them.

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