L Blais

..F.Z.K and A.F. have no competing interests to declare...

..To describe changes in inhaled corticosteroid use during pregnancy and markers of uncontrolled asthma, and to evaluate the association between them...

..We investigated whether asthmatic children and adolescents were receiving ICS after discharge from the ED and identified the characteristics of patients and physicians associated with their use...

..Although reassuring data exist on the use of low-to-moderate doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) during pregnancy, there are inadequate data for women receiving high doses...

..To investigate whether the socioeconomic status of children and adolescents with asthma is associated with optimal use of asthma medications in a health care system that provides free access to prescribed medications...

..There is a lack of consensus in the literature about the effect of maternal asthma on the development of congenital malformations...

..To investigate whether the maternal use of different doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) during the first trimester of pregnancy for the treatment of asthma increases the risk of congenital malformations in the offspring...

..The relative effectiveness of combination products such as budesonide/formoterol (BUD/FM) and fluticasone propionate/salmeterol (FP/SM) has not been well documented...

..Uncontrolled maternal asthma during pregnancy has been hypothesized as a cause of congenital malformation, but literature is scare on this topic...

..Results tended to be lower for 45-80 years old patients. We conclude that diagnoses recorded in the Medical Services database of Quebec are valid to identify patients with asthma...

..Whether the differences between budesonide/formoterol and fluticasone/salmeterol translate into differences in treatment outcomes in a real life setting is unknown...

..In addition to that, changes in treatment persistence over time, from 1990 to 1995, were investigated by estimating the yearly proportion of patients persisting for less than one year...

..Adherence to inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) has been shown to be low among patients with asthma...

..A cost-sharing drug insurance plan has been implemented among people receiving social assistance who had previously free access to medications...

..Compared to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), better use of leukotriene-receptor antagonists (LTRA) may lead to a greater reduction in exacerbations among asthmatic children in real-life settings...

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..The benefits of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in reducing the mortality related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are controversial...

..A study was therefore undertaken to evaluate whether maternal asthma during pregnancy increases the risk of perinatal mortality...

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..To evaluate the relationship between maternal asthma, its level of control and severity during pregnancy, and atopic dermatitis (AD) and allergic rhinitis (AR) incidence in children...

..The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of adherence to AH agents on the incidence of cerebrovascular disease (CD) in real-world practice...

..Studies have shown that <40% of patients take > or =80% of prescribed doses 1 year after starting therapy and that approximately half discontinue medication within 6 months of starting therapy...

..To determine whether isotretinoin increases the risk of depression in patients with acne vulgaris...

..CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Combination therapy might be preferred to concurrent therapy for patients with asthma with low adherence to controller therapies...

..These studies must be interpreted with caution because they have insufficient statistical power and a lack of adjustment for potential confounders...

..Low adherence to antihypertensive (AH) agents is acknowledged as a major contributor to the lack of blood pressure control, and may have a significant impact on clinical outcomes and healthcare costs...

..23 to 0.24). Based on the results, we conclude that fetal gender is unlikely to affect maternal asthma during pregnancy to the point where acute care and medications are more often required among women pregnant with a female fetus...

..To determine the validity of pregnancy variables recorded in administrative databases of Quebec using patient medical charts as the gold standard among asthmatic pregnant women...

..This study allowed the authors to identify, within a single setting, the most influential determinants of childhood asthma among 47 predictors assessed for the prenatal, perinatal, and childhood periods...

..It led to improvement in NYHA class and to a decrease in the number of days spent in the hospital and in the ER...

..To determine whether the use of inhaled corticosteroids during pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia among asthmatic women...

..19%; p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: The findings of this observational study indicate a far from optimal persistence to LTRAs and ICSs in asthmatic patients. The superior persistence to LTRAs might result in better effectiveness...

..However, the impact of changes in patterns of AH agents use on CHF is unknown. Our objective was to estimate to which different patterns of AH agent use is associated with the occurrence of CHF in a population-based study...

..Only the RxICC was associated with the risk of hospitalization and ED visits for asthma...

..Low adherence to statins may have a significant impact on clinical issues and health-care costs. The objective is to evaluate the impact of low adherence to statins on clinical issues and direct health-care costs...

..CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not indicate an increased risk of diabetes among current users of inhaled corticosteroids...

..To determine the effectiveness of theophyllines in real clinical practice on moderate to severe exacerbations...

..Few studies have reported the efficacy of collaborative care involving family physicians and community pharmacists for patients with dyslipidemia...

..The objective was to evaluate the persistence rate of middle-aged patients initiating a statin therapy and its relation with several determinants for primary and secondary prevention...

..Statins reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality after continuous treatment. Studies have shown that less than 50% of patients take 80% or more of prescribed doses 1 year after starting therapy...

..A standardized management plan should be implemented in the ED to improve the care of patients with asthma exacerbations...

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..Our aim was to evaluate the impact of adherence to statins on the incidence of CHF...

..This study was conducted to describe the different antibiotics that are used in the home management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and to estimate the failure rates following the initiation of the antibiotic...

..Nonadherence to statins may reduce this protective effect. The association between statin adherence and incidence of cerebrovascular disease remains unexplored outside the context of clinical trials...

..Periodic measurement of disease control is recommended to characterize asthma and monitor treatment...

..This may be as effective as and less expensive than long-term PMAS follow-up...

..Although this is useful information about ICS use during pregnancy, some articles must be viewed cautiously because of lack of power and adjustment for potentially important confounding variables...

..The objective is to estimate the rate ratio (RR) of having an ART prescription filled among elderly women and its relation to selected determinants from 1995 through 2001...

..Surveys have shown that hypertension has been diagnosed in many patients but remains uncontrolled. One factor may be the lack of persistence to treatment...

..Objective. To evaluate the persistence rate of middle-aged patients initiating statin therapy as well as its relation to patients' demographic and clinical characteristics...

..After the finding of a possible protective association of inhaled SABAs with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) in a previous study, we decided to further investigate their effect on this condition...

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..To estimate the population-based incidence rates of pregnancy, spontaneous and elective abortions, and birth defects associated with isotretinoin use, and to determine predictors of pregnancy while on isotretinoin...

..But treatment rates for osteoporosis among high-risk patients are far below the recommended guidelines. A major concern about BSDs is the lack of adherence with treatment...

..Asthma is work related when there is an association between symptoms and work. Occupational asthma (OA) is induced by the workplace, whereas work-exacerbated asthma (WEA) is triggered by the workplace but not induced by it...

..Action plans are recommended for most patients with persistent asthma to reduce the morbidity associated with this chronic disease. Unfortunately, despite these recommendations, this tool remains underused...

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..However, osteoporosis management remained sub-optimal, particularly in men...

..This study showed that injection drug use is frequent among street youths, but prevention appears possible...

..A study was undertaken to develop and validate two database indexes to measure the control and severity of asthma...

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..We conclude that second and third generation agents are associated with identical risks of venous thromboembolism when they are prescribed to women who are using oral contraceptives for the first time ever...

..CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that women prescribed NSAIDs during early pregnancy may be at a greater risk of having children with congenital anomalies, specifically cardiac septal defects...

..Moreover, potential cost savings may be foreseen when it is assumed that levetiracetam may reduce the number of candidates for surgical evaluation and surgery through a reduction of seizure frequency...

..Factors influencing community pharmacists' interventions have been identified, but little information is available regarding these factors in asthma care...

..The objective of this study was to describe physicians' clinical practices and the practice characteristics associated with better international normalized ratio (INR) control in a CCM...

..Patients initially dispensed medications suggesting the presence of severe asthma often see the intensity of treatment wane over time...

..Unique intervention strategies are necessary for reducing HIV infection among female street youths involved in prostitution...

..Intensity of drug use and factors which may help to stabilize the social environment of the young IDU may also influence the ability to stop injecting...

..However, these studies have methodologic limitations, such as lack of adjustment for cigarette smoking, a major risk factor for perinatal mortality...

..We decided to conduct a simulation study to compare the two approaches when the rate ratios (RRs) vary as a function of the cumulative duration of exposure and/or the time since the end of exposure...

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..9, 95% CI 0.9-4.2), and injection drug use (AHR 0.8, 95% CI 0.3-2.4). The incidence of prostitution in female street youths was elevated. Having a female sex partner was a strong predictor of initiating involvement in prostitution...