Asthma

Joint guidance for asthma recommends replacing SABA with corticosteroid inhalers

The draft guidance proposes the use of combined inhaled corticosteroid/formoterol inhalers over previously preferred short-acting beta agonists.…

Greener inhaler propellant is therapeutically equivalent to traditional alternatives, study results suggest

Study authors reported overall bioequivalence between inhalers that use HFA-152a as a propellant and traditionally used devices with HFA-134a as a propellant.…

‘Unresolvable conflict’: are links to big tobacco changing inhaler prescribing?

The takeover of inhaler company Vectura by tobacco firm Philip Morris International has stirred up debate and controversy, with experts raising questions around whether the NHS is doing enough to make the connection clear to prescribers and patients.…

NHS spends £430m on inhalers linked to Philip Morris since Vectura takeover

Exclusive: An analysis by The Pharmaceutical Journal of prescribing data has raised questions from experts on whether more should be done to highlight the inhalers‘ links to the tobacco company.…

Montelukast will carry ‘more prominent warnings’ of neuropsychiatric reactions

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency also advised prescribers to be alert for neuropsychiatric reactions, including sleep disorders, hallucinations, anxiety and depression, and changes in behaviour and mood.…

‘Shockingly little’ change in asthma care a decade on from national review, says charity

Asthma + Lung UK has called on the government to introduce targets to end preventable asthma deaths, after finding little improvement in asthma care over the past ten years.…

Improving the management of uncontrolled asthma for adults in England: where do pharmacists fit?

An overview of asthma management over the past ten years, including the role pharmacists play in delivering better outcomes for adults with asthma.…

MHRA reviewing safety of asthma drug as Yellow Card reports increase

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is reviewing montelukast after there were 143 reports of psychiatric disorders associated with the drug in 2023.…

Poorly controlled asthma eight times worse for greenhouse gases, study finds

Researchers found poorly controlled asthma contributed the same amount of excess greenhouse gases as that of 124,000 homes in the UK each year.…

Patient safety alert warns of salbutamol nebuliser liquid shortages with no date for resupply

An alert says that while alternative nebuliser liquids are available, manufacturers cannot support the increase in demand.…