Browsing by Author "Lemière, Catherine"

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    Adult Asthma Consensus Guidelines Update 2003
    (2004-01-01) Lemière, Catherine; Bai, Tony; Balter, Meyer; Bayliff, Charles; Becker, Allan; Boulet, Louis-Philippe; Bowie, Dennis; Cartier, André; Cave, Andrew; Chapman, Kenneth; Cowie, Robert; Coyle, Stephen; Cockcroft, Donald; Ducharme, Francine M; Ernst, Pierre; Finlayson, Shelagh; FitzGerald, J Mark; Hargreave, Frederick E; Hogg, Donna; Kaplan, Alan; Kim, Harold; Kelm, Cheryle; O’Byrne, Paul; Sears, Malcolm; Markham, Andrea White; on behalf of the Canadian Adult Consensus Group of the Canadian Thoracic Society,
    BACKGROUND: Several sets of Canadian guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma have been published over the past 15 years. Since the last revision of the 1999 Canadian Asthma Consensus Report, important new studies have highlighted the need to incorporate new information into the asthma guidelines.OBJECTIVES: To review the literature on adult asthma management published between January 2000 and June 2003; to evaluate the influence of the new evidence on the recommendations made in the 1999 Canadian Asthma Consensus Guidelines and its 2001 update; and to report new recommendations on adult asthma management.METHODS: Three specific topics for which new evidence affected the previous recommendations were selected for review: initial treatment of asthma, add-on therapies in the treatment of asthma and asthma education. The resultant reviews were discussed in June 2003 at a meeting under the auspices of the Canadian Thoracic Society, and recommendations for adult asthma management were reviewed.RESULTS: The present report emphasises the importance of the early introduction of inhaled corticosteroids in symptomatic patients with mild asthma; stresses the benefit of adding additional therapy, preferably long-acting beta2-agonists, to patients incompletely controlled on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids; and documents the essential role of asthma education.CONCLUSION: The present report generally supports many of the previous recommendations published in the 1999 Canadian Asthma Consensus Report and provides higher levels of evidence for a number of those recommendations.
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    Canadian Thoracic Society Asthma Management Continuum – 2010 Consensus Summary for Children Six Years of Age and Over, and Adults
    (2010-01-01) Lougheed, M Diane; Lemière, Catherine; Dell, Sharon D; Ducharme, Francine M; FitzGerald, J Mark; Leigh, Richard; Licskai, Chris; Rowe, Brian H; Bowie, Dennis; Becker, Allan; Boulet, Louis-Philippe
    BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: To integrate new evidence into the Canadian Asthma Management Continuum diagram, encompassing both pediatric and adult asthma.METHODS: The Canadian Thoracic Society Asthma Committee members, comprised of experts in pediatric and adult respirology, allergy and immunology, emergency medicine, general pediatrics, family medicine, pharmacoepidemiology and evidence-based medicine, updated the continuum diagram, based primarily on the 2008 Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines, and performed a focused review of literature pertaining to key aspects of asthma diagnosis and management in children six years of age and over, and adults.RESULTS: In patients six years of age and over, management of asthma begins with establishing an accurate diagnosis, typically by supplementing medical history with objective measures of lung function. All patients and caregivers should receive self-management education, including a written action plan. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) remain the first-line controller therapy for all ages. When asthma is not controlled with a low dose of ICS, the literature supports the addition of long-acting beta2-agonists in adults, while the preferred approach in children is to increase the dose of ICS. Leukotriene receptor antagonists are acceptable as second-line monotherapy and as an alternative add-on therapy in both age groups. Anti-immunoglobulin E therapy may be of benefit in adults, and in children 12 years of age and over with difficult to control allergic asthma, despite high-dose ICS and at least one other controller.CONCLUSIONS: The foundation of asthma management is establishing an accurate diagnosis based on objective measures (eg, spirometry) in individuals six years of age and over. Emphasis is placed on the similarities and differences between pediatric and adult asthma management approaches to achieve asthma control.
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    Effects of a Short Course of Inhaled Corticosteroids in Noneosinophilic Asthmatic Subjects
    (2011-01-01) Lemière, Catherine; Tremblay, Caroline; FitzGerald, Mark; Aaron, Shawn D; Leigh, Richard; Boulet, Louis-Philippe; Martin, James G; Nair, Parameswaran; Olivenstein, Ronald; Chaboillez, Simone
    BACKGROUND: Noneosinophilic asthma has been regarded as a distinct phenotype characterized by a poor response to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).OBJECTIVE: To determine whether noneosinophilic, steroid-naive asthmatic subjects show an improvement in asthma control, asthma symptoms and spirometry after four weeks of treatment with ICS, and whether they further benefit from the addition of a long-acting beta-2 agonists to ICS.METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study comparing the efficacy of placebo versus inhaled fluticasone propionate 250 μg twice daily for four weeks in mildly uncontrolled, steroid-naive asthmatic subjects with a sputum eosinophil count ≤2%. This was followed by an open-label, four-week treatment period with fluticasone propionate 250 μg/salmeterol 50 μg, twice daily for all subjects.RESULTS: After four weeks of double-blind treatment, there was a statistically significant and clinically relevant improvement in the mean (± SD) Asthma Control Questionnaire score in the ICS-treated group (n=6) (decrease of 1.0±0.5) compared with the placebo group (n=6) (decrease of 0.09±0.4) (P=0.008). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s declined in the placebo group (−0.2±0.2 L) and did not change in the ICS group (0.04±0.1 L) after four weeks of treatment (P=0.02). The open-label treatment with fluticasone propionate 250 μg/salmeterol 50 μg did not produce additional improvements in those who were previously treated for four weeks with inhaled fluticasone alone.CONCLUSION: A clinically important and statistically significant response to ICS was observed in mildly uncontrolled noneosinophilic asthmatic subjects.