Some patients switched to ‘greener’ inhalers without consultation, say experts Exclusive: Experts warn that non-consented inhaler switches pose risks to patients' health and advise physicians to carry out individual inhaler checks to avoid this.…
NHS develops dashboard to identify possible over-prescribing of prednisolone The dashboard calculates the total cumulative dose of prednisolone prescribed to patients in England in the past 12 months, allowing those at risk to be considered for alternative treatment methods.…
How to counsel patients on the administration of nasal sprays, drops and ointments and performing nasal irrigation Pharmacists and pharmacy teams must ensure patients understand how best to use their nasal preparations to ensure optimal delivery to resolve symptoms and prevent side effects.…
Half of asthma patients in the UK overusing SABAs, study finds In a UK asthma programme, 284,683 out of 574,913 patients were found to be “potentially overusing” short-acting β2-agonists.…
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: diagnosis and management Early diagnosis and medicines optimisation are fundamental to ensure timely and appropriate treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and improve a patient’s quality of life.…
Personalised medicine approach could benefit people with asthma Prescribing asthma treatment based on genetic differences could improve outcomes, results presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress have suggested.…
Novel once-daily fixed-dose ICS–LABA improves lung function over ICS monotherapy, research finds A once-daily fixed-dose combination of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β2-adrenoceptor agonist significantly improved lung function over inhaled corticosteroids alone, a phase III study has concluded.…
Once-daily ICS-LABA-LAMA superior to ICS-LABA in improving lung function, research suggests A study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine indicates that ICS-LABA-LAMA once daily is better than ICS-LABA in improving lung function.…
Reducing asthma medication does not worsen outcomes but could save money, study suggests Stepping down asthma medication does not adversely affect patient outcomes and could save millions of pounds in medicines costs, a study in PLoS Medicine has found.…
Asthma inhaler stocks low after COVID-19 linked demand spike, government says Pharmacies are experiencing difficulties sourcing some commonly used asthma inhalers, following a surge in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Pharmaceutical Journal can reveal.…
