Metabolic Dysfunction, Triglyceride-Glucose Index, and Risk of Severe Asthma Exacerbation.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic conditions may worsen asthma. There is a need to define a composite biomarker of metabolic dysfunction that has relevance to asthma outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), a biomarker of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, with risk of severe asthma exacerbation. METHODS: A 5-year retrospective cohort of patients with asthma receiving health care from the US Veterans Health Administration from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019, was constructed. Fasting TyG values were extracted. Patients were followed for a severe asthma exacerbation, defined as an asthma-related corticosteroid prescription fill or an emergency encounter or hospitalization for asthma. Adjusted models estimated the relative hazard of exacerbation associated with elevated TyG, accounting for known exacerbation risk factors. RESULTS: A total of 108,219 patients fulfilled study criteria. Over 286,343 person-years of follow-up, 21,467 exacerbations were identified, corresponding to a crude rate of 7.5 exacerbations/100 person-years. In exploratory analysis, we found a threshold effect at a TyG of 8.3, which was defined as elevated. In a fully adjusted model, patients with an elevated TyG had a 6% (95% CI, 3%-10%) higher hazard for severe asthma exacerbation, independent of eosinophil count, smoking, obesity, and asthma treatment intensity. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated TyG is a risk factor for severe asthma exacerbation independent of conventional predictors. Elevated TyG may identify patients who warrant more intensive asthma treatment and who are candidates for future clinical trials of metabolic intervention for purposes of improving asthma morbidity.

The future of emergency medicine.

BACKGROUND: The specialty of emergency medicine (EM) continues to experience a significant workforce shortage in the face of increasing demand for emergency care. SUMMARY: In July 2009, representatives of the leading EM organizations met in Dallas for the Future of Emergency Medicine Summit. Attendees at the Future of Emergency Medicine Summit agreed on the following: 1) Emergency medical care is an essential community service that should be available to all; 2) An insufficient emergency physician workforce also represents a potential threat to patient safety; 3) Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education/American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited EM residency training and American Board of Medical Specialties/AOA EM board certification is the recognized standard for physician providers currently entering a career in emergency care; 4) Physician supply shortages in all fields contribute to-and will continue to contribute to-a situation in which providers with other levels of training may be a necessary part of the workforce for the foreseeable future; 5) A maldistribution of EM residency-trained physicians persists, with few pursuing practice in small hospital or rural settings; 6) Assuring that the public receives high quality emergency care while continuing to produce highly skilled EM specialists through EM training programs is the challenge for EM's future; 7) It is important that all providers of emergency care receive continuing postgraduate education.