Current therapeutical strategies for allergic rhinitis

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis is a common condition with increasing prevalence and is associated with several comorbid disorders such as bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis. If allergen avoidance is not possible, allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only causal treatment option.

Areas covered: This review focuses on current treatments and the future outlook for allergic rhinitis. Pharmacotherapy includes mast cell stabilizers, antihistamines, glucocorticosteroids (GCSs), leukotriene receptor antagonists, and nasal decongestants. Nasal GCSs are currently regarded as the most effective treatment and are considered first-line therapy together with non-sedating antihistamines. The new formulation MP29-02 combines the nasal GCS fluticasone propionate with azelastine in one single spray and has achieved greater improvements than those under monotherapy with modern GCSs or antihistamines. Furthermore, this review discusses allergen immunotherapy alone and in combination with modern monoclonal antibodies.

Expert opinion: Despite the variety of medications for allergic rhinitis, ranging from general symptomatic agents like GCSs or decongestants, to more specific ones like histamine receptor or leukotriene blockers, to causal therapy like immunotherapy, many patients still experience treatment failures or unsatisfactory results. The ultimate goal may be to endotype every downstream pathway separately in order to offer patients individualized, targeted therapy with specific antibodies against the respective pathway.     

A Reminder of Methylene Blue's Effectiveness in Treating Vasoplegic Syndrome after On-Pump Cardiac Surgery

The inflammatory response induced by cardiopulmonary bypass decreases vascular tone, which in turn can lead to vasoplegic syndrome. Indeed the hypotension consequent to on-pump cardiac surgery often necessitates vasopressor and intravenous fluid support. Methylene blue counteracts vasoplegic syndrome by inhibiting the formation of nitric oxide.We report the use of methylene blue in a 75-year-old man who developed vasoplegic syndrome after cardiac surgery. After the administration of methylene blue, his hypotension improved to the extent that he could be weaned from vasopressors. The use of methylene blue should be considered in patients who develop hypotension refractory to standard treatment after cardiac surgery.     

Avanzando en la sistematización del benchmarking en servicios de salud pública

Continuous management improvement should be an aspiration for all public sector organizations. External comparison or benchmarking identifies good practices in similar organizations. For public health services, it is not easy to obtain such indicators. The objectives of this paper are to describe the process of conducting a benchmarking exercise for a public health agency, and to share its results. For this purpose, agencies that may be compared were identified, and their websites were searched for annual reports or other documents with indicators of the activities or results of public health services. Limitations and contextual aspects of the indicators of the different organizations were identified, as well as ways to improve their comparability. Finally, a set of 19 indicators is proposed, as an initial core for quality management comparisons.     

经鼻给予抗ICAM-1抗体对大鼠脑缺血再灌注损伤的保护作用

目的 探讨经鼻腔给予抗细胞间黏附分子-1(ICAM-1)单克隆抗体(单抗)对大鼠脑缺血再灌注损伤的保护作用.方法 将30只雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为假手术组、脑缺血再灌注组及脑缺血再灌注+经鼻给予高、中、低剂量抗ICAM-1单抗干预组.采用插线法制作局灶脑缺血再灌注模型.各干预组于缺血1 h经鼻给予抗ICAM-1单抗,再灌24 h后取脑行冠状切片.采用TTC、HE及免疫组化染色法测定脑梗死体积及免疫组化阳性区占总面积比.结果 缺血再灌注组脑标本均可见缺血侧的脑膜充血,脑组织肿胀;单纯脑缺血再灌注组及低、中、高抗ICAM-1单抗干预组脑梗死体积(以像素值表示)分别为57 042±12 483、32 871±4 325、25 932±3 103和15 325±3 356,免疫组化阳性区面积占总面积比分别为(6.64±0.476)%、(5.15±0.987)%、(4.36±0.682)%和(3.42±0.537)%,各组间差异均有统计学意义.结论 (1)脑缺血再灌注可使脑组织ICAM-1表达显著增高;(2)经鼻腔给予抗ICAM-1单抗可有效降低脑组织ICAM-1的表达,缩小脑梗死体积;(3)经鼻腔给予抗ICAM-1单抗的剂量同脑梗死体积呈负相关;(4)脑缺血再灌注时ICAM-1免疫组化阳性区面积比与脑梗死体积呈正相关.