Week 11 Flashcards
Describe Asthma?
- Recurrent, reversible airway obstruction
- Attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath
- Often nocturnal dry cough
What is the pathogenesis of asthma in genetically susceptible people?
Activation of the Th2 profile of cytokine production
What happens when the Th2 are activated in asthma?
- Attracts inflammatory granulocytes (eosinophil) to mucosal surface
- IL-5 & GMCSF cause eosinophils to produce cysteinyl leukotrienes & release granule proteins
- IgE synthesis is promoted, as is expression of IgE receptors on mast cells and eosinophils
What are the important mediators in the pathogenesis of asthma?
- Leukotriene B4 & cysteinyl-leukotrienes (C4 & D4)
- Interleukins IL-4, IL-5, IL-13
- Tissue damaging eosinophil proteins
What does GMCSF mean?
Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factors
What would the cross section of a bronchiole in severe asthma show?
- Dilated blood vessels
- Thickened BM
- Mucus plug with eosinophils & desquamated epithelial cells
- Infiltration of inflammatory cells (mononuclear, eosinophils etc)
- Oedema
How is the treatment for asthma measured?
Measuring the Peak expiratory flow rate.
also forced expiratory volume, oxygen saturation & arterial blood gases
What are the eliciting agents of the Immediate phase of allergic asthma and what cells do they stimulate?
- Allergen, Non-specfic stimulus
- Stimulates Mast cells, mononuclear cells
What happens in the Immediate phase of allergic asthma?
Bronchospasm
How is the Immediate phase of allergic asthma reversed/treated?
- Beta2-adrenoceptor agonists
- CysLT-receptor antagonists
- Theophylline
What are the eliciting agents of the Late phase of allergic asthma?
Chemotaxins & chemokines from immediate phase allergic asthma
What happens in the late phase of allergic asthma?
- Infiltration of cytokine-releasing Th2 cells & monocytes
- Activation of inflammatory cells (eosinophils)
What is the result of late phase allergic asthma?
- Airway inflammation
- Airway hyper-reactivity
- Bronchospasm, wheezing, coughing
How is the late phase of allergic asthma reversed/treated?
Glucocorticoids
What are the 5 different types of treatment / preventative medicines for asthma?
- Beta2 adrenoceptor agonists (SABA, LABA)
- Anti-inflammatory agents
- Cysteinyl leukotriene antagonists (LTRA)
- Methylxanthines
- Anti-IgE treatment
How do Beta-adrenoreceptor agonists work?
Dilate bronchi via smooth muscle B2 receptors
What does Short acting (SABA) do?
ie. Salbutamol
- Given by inhalation
- Immediate effects & lasts 3-5hrs
- “Rescue remedy” treats wheeze in patients
What does Long acting (LABA) do?
ie. Salmeterol
- Lasts 8-12hrs
- Prevents bronchospasm (at night/during exercise) in patients requiring long-term therapy
What are the main drugs used for anti-inflammatory action in asthma?
Glucocorticoids (ICS)
What do Glucocorticoids do and don’t do?
- Prevent progression on chronic asthma
- Don’t prevent immediate response to allergen
What do Glucocorticoids decrease?
- Formation of cytokines (released by Th2 lymphoctyes)
- Vasodilators such as prostaglandins by inhibiting COX
- Activation of eosinophils
What do you give in deteriorating asthma?
Oral (prednisolone) or IV (hydrocortisone)
What is the main inhaled Glucocorticoid?
Beclometasone
How do cysteinyl-leukotriene receptor antagonists work?
- Cloned cysteinyl-leukotriene receptors CysLT1 & CysLT2 are expressed on respiratory mucosa and infiltrating inflammatory cells
- Lukast drugs antagonize only CysLT1
Give an example of a Lukast drug?
Montelukast
What do Lukast drugs do?
- Decrease exercise-induced asthma and decrease early & late phase responses
- Relax airways in mild asthma
- Mainly used as add-on to ICS & LABAs
- Decrease acute reactions to aspirin
Give an example of a Methylxanthine?
Theophylline
What is Theophylline and what does it do?
- Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitor
- Increases cyclic nucleotides in the cell to relax smooth muscle
What drug used to treat COPD comes under the Methylxanthine family?
Uniphyllin
oral sustained release formulations used in addition to steroids
What Methylxanthine drug is rarely used as an IV drug in acute severe asthma?
Aminophylline
What is the immediate treatment for acute severe asthma?
- Oxygen (maintain SpO2 at 94-98%)
- Salbutamol or terbutaline + ipratropium via nebuliser
- IV hydrocortisone or prednisolone tablets
What would you do if patient was still not improving with immediate treatment for acute severe asthma?
- IV magnesium sulphate
- Switch nebulised to IV salbutamol or aminophylline
Describe Ipratropium?
- Its a SAMA for COPD
- Rarely used for asthma
- Used for cough by irritant stimuli
- Decreases augmentation of mucous secretion & increase clearance of bronchial secretions
- Not effective against allergen challenge
- Not selective for 1 muscarinic receptor type
- Used for bronchospasm precipitated by beta-blocker
What is Tiotropium?
LAMA version of Ipratropium
When constructing a clinical question what does PICO stand for?
- Patient/Population/Problem
- Intervention
- Comparison (if any)
- Outcome
What is the “Anatomy” of a good question?
- Define precisely who the question is about
- Define which option you are considering and possible comparison
- Define the desired outcome
What do systematic reviews/meta-analyses come under in information resources?
Secondary sources of information vetted by independent researchers and clinicians
What are Clinical Practice Guidelines?
Reviews covering large disease groups & treatment strategies (NICE & SIGN guidelines)
What do you look at when trying to answer a clinical question?
- Start with- Cochrane Reviews, NICE & SIGN guidelines
2. Then use- Medline (Ovid, PubMed), google Scholar
What is a “Null Hypothesis”?
Two sets of data are from the same population and not different
What is an “Alternative Hypothesis”?
Two sets of data are from different populations and are different