No abstract

The aim of this study was to report the characteristics and treatment strategies of all patients with acute bronchospasm who were presented to the emergency departments of Ahvaz, Iran, following the occurrence of a thunderstorm on November 2, 2013. A total of 2000 patients presenting with asthma attacks triggered by thunderstorm were interviewed and an initial questionnaire was completed for each individual. After twenty days, patients were asked to complete a supplementary questionnaire, but only 800 of them accepted to do so. The majority of subjects was aged 20–40 years (60.5%) and had no history of asthma in most cases (60.0%). The symptoms had started outdoors for 60.0% of the participants. In most patients, the onset of the condition was on November 2. Short-acting β 2-agonist (salbutamol) and aminophylline were the most commonly prescribed medications in the emergency department. Upon the second interview, 85.3% of the patients were still symptomatic. Overall, 63.6% did not have a follow-up visit after hospital discharge, although all of them were referred to the specialist. The findings of the present study suggest that thunderstorm-associated asthma could affect young adults with no gender priority, with or without asthma history, which put a strain on emergency medical services.

Background: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease, which usually associated with chronic airway inflammation. The anti-heat shock protein (anti-HSP) 70 is a novel risk factor for asthma. The aim of the present study was to survey the effect of saffron supplementation on anti-HSP70, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and spirometry test in patients with allergic asthma. Basic procedures: In this clinical trial, patients (N = 80, 32 women and 48 men, 18-65 years old) with mild and moderate allergic asthma were randomized into two groups: a group of patients who received two capsules of saffron (100 mg/d) and a control group who received two capsules of placebo for 8 weeks. Anti-HSP70, hs-CRP and spirometry test were determined in patients before (week 0) and after (week 8) intervention. SPSS software (version 16.0; Inc, Chicago, IL) was used for data analysis. Main findings: Saffron in comparison with placebo significantly reduced the hs-CRP (p < 0.001) and anti-HSP70 (p < 0.001) concentrations. In spirometry test, forced expiratory volume in first second(FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC ratio and forced expiratory flow 25-75%.(FEF 25-75) increased significantly in saffron in comparison to placebo group (p < 0.05). Principal conclusions: Results of the present study suggested that saffron supplementation in patients with allergic asthma decreased significantly anti-HSPs 70 and hs-CRP and also improved some spirometry test factors.

Background:Hemoptysis is the expectorating of blood from the tracheobronchial tree or pulmonary parenchyma. There is conflicting information about usefulness of radiography, MDCT, and bronchoscopy for investigating site and cause of the bleeding in patients with hemoptysis. The present study attempted to evaluated efficacy of these methods for identifying hemoptysis’ cause and etiology on 40 patients with the disease.Methods:A total of 40 patients with Hemoptysis who were referred to Golestan and Emam Khomeini hospitals were evaluated. Complete history of symptoms, volume and duration of Hemoptysis and demographic information were documented. Radiography, MDCT, and bronchoscopy were performed on all patients in order to investigate the site and cause of the bleeding.Results:Results showed MDCT had higher efficacy in identifying bleeding site than radiography, while efficacy of radiography and bronchoscopy or efficacy of MDCT and bronchoscopy weren’t significantly different. In addition, sensitivity of MDCT (60%) for detecting cause of the bleeding was higher than that of radiography (25%) and bronchoscopy (32.5%).Conclusion:The present study suggests MDCT as a suitable method in screening patients with hemoptysis, because it managed to detect site and causes of bleeding more efficiently than other methods. Additionally, we concluded that MDCT is an appropriate technique for diagnosing malignancies that cause hemoptysis in patients.