Over the past 20 years, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) has regularly published and
annually updated a global strategy for asthma management and prevention that has formed …

Clinicians have been interested in the macroscopic and protocol (fig 1), based on that
described by Pin et al7 using a relatively low output ultrasonic nebuliser (output 0.9 ml/…

Since the first attempts to use standardised methods for sampling induced airways sputum,
two methods for processing the expectorate have evolved. The first involves selecting all …

Asthma is a serious health problem throughout the world. During the past two decades, many
scientific advances have improved our understanding of asthma and ability to manage and …

Background Eosinophilic inflammation, which may be a consequence of interleukin-5 action,
is a characteristic feature of some forms of asthma. However, in three previous clinical trials …

Methods to examine sputum for indices of airway inflammation are evolving. We have
examined the repeatability and the validity of an improved method to measure sputum cells and …

One important goal of asthma treatment is to reduce exacerbations. The current authors
investigated if the use of sputum cell counts to guide treatment would achieve this goal. A total of …

Background Persistent eosinophilic airway inflammation in asthma increases the risk of
exacerbations. In a phase 2b dose-ranging study, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of …

Leukotrienes are pro-inflammatory mediators which may contribute to tissue, sputum, and
blood eosinophilia seen in allergic and inflammatory diseases, including asthma. Montelukast …

A reliable predictor of benefit from corticosteroid treatment in patients with chronic airflow
limitation is needed. In a single-blind, sequential crossover trial of placebo and prednisone (30 …