The current prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma among adults is 4.4%, and allergic rhinitis, nasal polyposis and aspirin intolerance are associated with an increased risk of asthma. There is also association between aspirin-induced asthma and allergic-like rhinitis.

Budesonide/formoterol in a single inhaler was compared with budesonide alone, and with concurrent administration of budesonide and formoterol from separate inhalers, in patients with asthma, not controlled with inhaled glucocorticosteroids alone.In this 12-week, double-blind, randomized, double-dummy study, 362 adult asthmatics (forced expiratory volume in one second 73.8% of predicted, inhaled glucocorticosteroid dose 960 mg?day -1 ) received single inhaler budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort1 Turbuhaler1) 160/4.5 mg, two inhalations b.i.d., or corresponding treatment with budesonide, or budesonide plus formoterol via separate inhalers.There was a greater increase in morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) with singleinhaler (35.7 L?min -1 ) and separate-inhaler (32.0 L?min -1 ) budesonide and formoterol, compared with budesonide alone (0.2 L?min -1 ; pv0.001, both comparisons); the effect was apparent after 1 day (pv0.001 versus budesonide, both comparisons). Similarly, evening PEF, use of rescue medication, total asthma symptom scores and percentage of symptom-free days improved more with both single inhaler and separate inhaler therapy than with budesonide alone, as did asthma control days (y15% more, pv0.001 versus budesonide, both comparisons, with a marked increase in the first week). All treatments were well tolerated and the adverse event profile was similar in all three treatment groups.It is concluded that single inhaler therapy with budesonide and formoterol is a clinically effective and well-tolerated treatment for patients with asthma that is not fully controlled by inhaled glucocorticosteroids alone.

Background -Acute asthma during pregnancy is potentially dangerous to the fetus. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an acute attack of asthma during pregnancy on the course of pregnancy or delivery, or the health of the newborn infant, and to identify undertreatment as a possible cause of the exacerbations. Methods -Five hundred and four pregnant asthmatic subjects were prospectively followed and treated. The data on 47 patients with an attack ofasthma during pregnancy were compared with those of 457 asthmatics with no recorded acute exacerbation and with 237 healthy parturients. Results -Of 504 asthmatics, 177 patients were not initially treated with inhaled corticosteroids. Ofthese, 17% had an acute attack compared with only 4% of the 257 patients who had been on inhaled antiinflammatory treatment from the start of pregnancy. There were no differences between the groups as to length of gestation, length of the third stage of labour, or amount of haemorrhage after delivery. No differences were observed between pregnancies with and without an exacerbation with regard to relative birth weight, incidence ofmalformations, hypoglycaemia, or need for phototherapy for jaundice during the neonatal period. Conclusions -Patients with inadequate inhaled anti-inflammatory treatment during pregnancy run a higher risk ofsuffering an acute attack of asthma than those treated with an anti-inflammatory agent. However, if the acute attack of asthma is relatively mild and promptly treated, it does not have a serious effect on the pregnancy, delivery, or the health of the newborn infant.