GLG News by Pulmonologists (US)

Who has time to study guidelines besides insurance CEO's?? I think insurance companies are the only ones to benefit from these new guidelines. It will only be  a matter of time when echocardiograms will need to be pre-certified. Or better yet, only cardiologists will be allowed to order them!...

How practical is it to have developed this combination vaccine that is only indicated for ONE dose at 4-6 yo??  Think about it: we will be expected to buy, store, and administer this vaccine to children only one time in their life? At what cost? Any added benefit besides one less shot?

Nalbuphine is different from the other typical narcotics in that  it has both agonist/antagonist characteristics. This will need to be studied well. In non-narcotic-dependant folks, there will not be any ill effect from this antagonistic quality. But what will happen for the many "dependent" p...

Levoceterizine is the left-handed isomer of ceterizine (Zyrtec).  It gives all the antihistaminic effect of Zyrtec with, maybe, half the sedation.  But it ain't non-sedating!  Look at its own data:  6% sedation with Xyzal, 2% with placebo.  As such, I must respectfully disagree...

Symbicort is AstraZeneca's answer to Advair, presently the number one combination ICS/LABA in the U.S. for treating moderate to severe asthma. Symbicort will not, however, have an indication for quick relief of bronchospasm as it does in many European countries. Nevertheless, Symbicort appears to be...

Older patients get nebulizer drugs paid for under Medicare Part B, which pays 80% with no "doughnut hole" and they often have secondary insurance which picks up the other 20%.  Foradil Aerolizer, in contrast, is paid for under Medicare Part D, which pays less than 80% and has the doughnut hole...

I have not found nebulized antibiotic therapy to be of great success in patients with chronic sinusitis.  There are already a few pharmacies that have formulated an array of nebulized antibiotics and I have tried them in a few patients with no success.   

The FDA's ban on CFC propellants (widely used for asthma and emphysema), which is due to be complete by 2008 has already driven almost all CFC-driven inhalers off the market. The alternative propellant, HFA, is patented by 3M, and only available in branded products which are about 3-5 times as expensive...

This is one of those studies where the marketing department calls us research and says, "Here's the conclusions to your next study.  Now design and perform a study to reach these results and this conclusion."  Unfortunately, I'm not kidding, and doctors aren't fooled.Years ago, Astelin designed...

I think the correct way to say it is, "You can eat your cake, and have it too", but no one knows what I'm talking about. This study looked at what happens when you add a nasal steroid (ciclesonide) to someone who is already on Advair 500/50.  Please note that one of the authors has a slight,...