Recent Trends in Prescription Drug Costs

AMA Infographic | April 5, 2016VISUALIZING HEALTH POLICY

 FREE

Cynthia Cox, MPH; Rabah Kamal; Anne Jankiewicz; David Rousseau, MPH ; for the Kaiser Family Foundation

JAMA. 2016;315(13):1326. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.2646.

This Visualizing Health Policy infographic spotlights national spending on prescription drugs and the public’s views on pharmaceutical prices. Prescription drug spending rose sharply in 2014, driven by growth in expenditures on specialty drugs, including medications to treat cancer and hepatitis C. Medicare’s spending on prescription pharmaceuticals also has risen: between 2004 and 2014, the program’s share of US drug expenditures increased from 2% of $193 billion to 29% percent of $298 billion. Prices for many specialty drugs are higher in the United States than other developed countries, and about 1 in 4 people in the United States who take prescription drugs report difficulty affording them. The majority of the public favors 4 policy actions to hold drug prices in check: requiring pharmaceutical companies to publicly release information on how they set prices; allowing Medicare to negotiate medication prices; limiting charges for high-cost drugs; and allowing people in the United States to buy drugs imported from Canada.

Preconceptional exposure to oral contraceptive pills and the risk of wheeze, asthma and rhinitis in children

Kiwako Yamamoto-Hanada

,

 Masaki Futamura

,

 Limin Yang

,

 Tetsuo Shoda

,

 Masami Narita

,

 Fumio Kobayashi

,

 Hirohisa Saito

,

 Yukihiro Ohya

Open Access

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2016.02.01

• Abstract
• Full Text
• References

Abstract

Background

The prevalence of maternal oral contraceptive pills (OCP) use and that of childhood asthma are high in western countries. The aim of this study is to examine the association of OCP use with childhood wheeze and allergic diseases in Japan.

Persisting Long Term Benefits of Smoking Abstinence and Reduction in Asthmatic Smokers Who Have Switched to Electronic Cigarettes

Current Issue, Vol 21, No 114, Feb. 2016 

Polosa R, Morjaria JB, Caponnetto P, Caruso M, Campagna D, Amaradio MD, Ciampi G, Russo C, Fisichella A.

Abstract: Background. Improvements in asthma outcomes have been recently reported in asthmatic smokers who have substantially reduced their tobacco consumption by switching to ECs. Confirmation of these preliminary findings is necessary to reassure patients, healthcare professionals and policy makers. Here, we present findings from long term prospective assessment of objective and subjective asthma outcomes as well as safety and tolerability in this group of EC users with asthma.Methods. We prospectively re-evaluated respiratory symptoms, lung function, airway hyperresponsiveness, asthma control, asthma exacerbations and tobacco consumption in adult daily ECs users with asthma who were previously studied in a retrospective study. Measurements recorded at baseline prior to switching were compared with those at the follow-up visits at 6, 12, and 24 months.

The cytokine interleukin-26 as a biomarker in pediatric asthma

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

OPEN ACCESS

• Jon R. Konradsen,
• Björn Nordlund,
• Bettina Levänen,
• Gunilla Hedlin and
• Anders LindenEmail author

Respiratory Research201617:32

DOI: 10.1186/s12931-016-0351-6

©  Konradsen et al. 2016

Abstract

In this pilot study, we examined associations between local interleukin (IL)-26, disease severity and biomarkers of Th2-mediated inflammation in a well-defined cohort of pediatric patients (14 years median age, 41 % females) with controlled (n = 28) or uncontrolled (n = 48) asthma.

High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Can Reflect Small Airway Obstruction in Childhood Asthma

Yonsei Med J. 2016 May;57(3):690-697. English

. A Ra Ko, Yoon Hee Kim, In Suk Sol, Min Jung Kim, Seo Hee Yoon, Kyung Won Kim and Kyu-Earn Kim

Department of Pediatrics, Severance Hospital, Institute of Allergy, Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Original Article  Open Access

Abstract

Purpose High-sensitivity assays enabled the identification of C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) at levels that were previously undetectable. We aimed to determine if hs-CRP could reflect airway inflammation in children, by comparing hs-CRP with spirometry and impulse oscillometry (IOS) parameters and symptomatic severities.

Update on paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea.

J Thorac Dis. 2016 Feb;8(2):224-35. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.12.04.

Dehlink E1, Tan HL1.

Author information

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is one of the most common causes of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in children. It is associated with significant morbidity, potentially impacting on long-term neurocognitive and behavioural development, as well as cardiovascular outcomes and metabolic homeostasis. The low grade systemic inflammation and increased oxidative stress seen in this condition are believed to underpin the development of these OSA-related morbidities.

Allergic Patients with Long-Term Asthma Display Low Levels of Bifidobacterium adolescentis

PLoS One. 2016 Feb 3;11(2):e0147809. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147809. eCollection 2016.

Hevia A1, Milani C2, López P3, Donado CD4, Cuervo A5, González S5, Suárez A3, Turroni F2, Gueimonde M1, Ventura M2, Sánchez B1, Margolles A1.

Abstract

Accumulated evidence suggests a relationship between specific allergic processes, such as atopic eczema in children, and an aberrant fecal microbiota. However, little is known about the complete microbiota profile of adult individuals suffering from asthma. We determined the fecal microbiota in 21 adult patients suffering allergic asthma (age 39.43 ± 10.98 years old) and compare it with the fecal microbiota of 22 healthy controls (age 39.29 ± 9.21 years old) using culture independent techniques. An Ion-Torrent 16S rRNA gene-based amplification and sequencing protocol was used to determine the fecal microbiota profile of the individuals.

Effects of a dietary intervention with conjugated linoleic acid on immunological and metabolic parameters in children and adolescents with allergic asthma – a placebo-controlled pilot trial

Anke Jaudszus, Jochen G. Mainz, Sylvia Pittag, Sabine Dornaus, Christian Dopfer, Alexander Roth and Gerhard Jahreis

Lipids in Health and Disease201615:21

DOI: 10.1186/s12944-016-0187-6

Abstract

Background

Circumstantial evidence suggests that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) beneficially modulates immune function in allergic subjects. C9,t11-CLA, naturally occurring in ruminant fats, is suggested to be the effective isomer. In contrast, for thet10,c12-CLA isomer, which is naturally found only in traces but usually constitutes a relevant part in commercial CLA mixtures, adverse effects have been reported. Aim of this study was to assess putative immunomodulatory effects of highly enriched c9,t11-CLA in allergic subjects. To our best knowledge, our study is the first in that a CLA preparation was used for such purpose which was free of t10,c12-CLA.

Validation of a metered dose inhaler electronic monitoring device: implications for asthma clinical trial use

BMJ Open Resp Res 2016;3:e000128 doi:10.1136/bmjresp-2016-000128

• Respiratory research

1. Janine Pilcher1,2, 
2. Mark Holliday2, 
3. Stefan Ebmeier2, 
4. Steve McKinstry2, 
5. Fatiha Messaoudi2,
6. Mark Weatherall1,3 and 
7. Richard Beasley1,2

+Author Affiliations

1. ¹Capital and Coast District Health Board, Wellington, New Zealand
2. ²Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
3. ³Wellington School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Otago Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

1. Correspondence toDr Stefan Ebmeier; stefan.ebmeier@mrinz.ac.nz

Abstract

Background The SmartTouch Ventolin monitor (Adherium, Auckland, New Zealand) is an electronic monitor for use with a Ventolin metered dose inhaler, which records the date and time of inhaler actuations. This technology has the potential to allow in-depth analysis of patterns of inhaler use in clinical trial settings. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of the SmartTouch Ventolin monitor in recording Ventolin actuations.

Infection biomarkers in primary care patients with acute respiratory tract infections–comparison of Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein

RESEARCH ARTICLE

OPEN ACCESS

• Marc Meili, 
• Alexander Kutz, 
• Matthias Briel, 
• Mirjam Christ-Crain, 
• Heiner C. Bucher, 
• Beat Mueller and 
• Philipp SchuetzEmail author

BMC Pulmonary MedicineBMC series – open, inclusive and trusted201616:43

DOI: 10.1186/s12890-016-0206-4

©  Meili et al. 2016

Open Peer Review reports

Abstract

Background

There is a lack of studies comparing the utility of C-reactive protein (CRP) with Procalcitonin (PCT) for the management of patients with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) in primary care. Our aim was to study the correlation between these markers and to compare their predictive accuracy in regard to clinical outcome prediction.

E-cigarettes and smoking cessation in real-world and clinical settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , 116 - 128

Sara Kalkhoran, MD

,

 Prof Stanton A Glantz, PhD

• Summary
• Full Text
• Tables and Figures
• References
• Supplementary Material

Summary

Background

Smokers increasingly use e-cigarettes for many reasons, including attempts to quit combustible cigarettes and to use nicotine where smoking is prohibited. We aimed to assess the association between e-cigarette use and cigarette smoking cessation among adult cigarette smokers, irrespective of their motivation for using e-cigarettes.