Respiratory

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with 2 authors of a recent study who researched how useful preventive drug lists are for patients with asthma and parents of children with asthma.

Interstitial lung disease requires a multidisciplinary clinical approach, though little is known about effective therapeutic treatments.

Findings of this qualitative interview study suggest promise, but also challenges, with regard to using preventive drug lists to help families manage asthma medication costs.

Infectious disease experts at the University of Maryland School of Medicine recently warned there is an urgent need for the administration of influenza vaccines among detainees at the southern border.

Key features of the lung microbiome (bacterial burden, enrichment with gut-associated bacteria) were found to predict outcomes in critically ill patients, representing a potential therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory failure, according to study findings.

In a press conference, HHS secretary Alex Azar provided updates on the US government’s response to the 2019 novel coronavirus. He was joined by the director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, MD; the director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Nancy Messonnier, MD; and the director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, MD.

The US Surgeon General, Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, has released the first report since 1990 that focuses solely on smoking cessation in America. Smoking accounts for the deaths of half a million Americans each year and is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the country.

Five issues in healthcare were spotlighted as key developments to watch; FDA to ban all e-cig vape flavors except for menthol and tobacco; Google AI system shown to improve detection of breast cancer through mammograms.

The fluid in e-cigarettes were associated with the near fatal respiratory failure of a teenage boy who was found to have an exaggerated immune response to one of its chemicals while vaping, according to a report published this week by doctors.

New trials are looking at what could be the next therapy or one that layers on top of present therapies to treat lung diseases, said Lisa Lancaster, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Health.

A clofazimine-containing regimen was found to be well tolerated and potentially effective in patients with rapidly growing mycobacteria infection, especially nonpulmonary and non–Mycobacterium abscessus complex infections, according to retrospective cohort study findings.

Highmark announced this week that its outcomes-based contract with AstraZeneca for the respiratory combination medication of budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort) revealed positive results in improving outcomes for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Here are the top 5 articles for the month of October.

Reducing the use of metered-dose inhalers for asthma could shrink the carbon footprint while achieving cost savings if less expensive brands of dry powder inhalers are used, according to new research findings.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care news included the average Affordable Care Act premiums falling 4%; the FDA approving a triple combination treatment for cystic fibrosis; House Republicans releasing part 1 of their healthcare plan.

Lisa Lancaster, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Health, discusses how sleep apnea is a comorbidity for other lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease.

The FDA approved the triple combination of elexacaftor, ivacaftor, and tezacaftor, to be sold under the name Trikafta, as a novel treatment among patients with the most common cystic fibrosis mutation.

Several species of bacteria that can transmit respiratory infections have varying levels of response to the disinfecting agents used in municipal water treatment systems, with no one water disinfection strategy achieving complete microbial control, according to new findings.

African Americans who report high levels of chronic stress were shown to be at a heightened risk of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension, with specific stressors such as discrimination and socioeconomic status serving as possible catalysts, according to study findings.

Long term e-cigarette impact on humans remains unknown, although studies on mice suggest potentially harmful consequences for users.

An in-press study detailed the characteristics of 4 asthma endotypes and their association with asthma-related healthcare outcomes and responsiveness to treatment.

Research presented at the European Respiratory Society Conference 2019 details the novel use of a single inhaler combining 3 therapies, as opposed to 2, in 2 clinical studies on patients with severe asthma.

Pirfenidone was shown to potentially benefit patients with uILD in a phase 2 trial, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress 2019 in Madrid, Spain.

Adherence to documenting asthma severity or control and providing ample education to patients was low among physicians from 2012-2015, with primary care providers monitoring nearly two-thirds of asthma-related visits, according to a federal report.