[Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma - Addendum 2020 - Guideline of the German Respiratory Society and the German Atemwegsliga in Cooperation with the Paediatric Respiratory Society and the Austrian Society of Pneumology]. / S2k-Leitlinie zur Diagnostik und Therapie von Patienten mit Asthma ­ Addendum 2020.

The present addendum of the guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma (2017) complements new insights into the diagnosis and management of asthma as well as for the newly approved drugs for the treatment of asthma. Current, evidence-based recommendations on diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are presented for children and adolescents as well as for adults with asthma.

[Guidelines of the German Respiratory Society for Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults Suffering from Acute, Subacute and Chronic Cough]. / Leitlinie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Pneumologie und Beatmungsmedizin zur Diagnostik und Therapie von erwachsenen Patienten mit Husten.

The present 2019 S2k consensus guideline of the German Respiratory Society was written - in contrast to the predecessor more general S3 guidelines from 2004 and 2010 - for pneumologists, since 2014 the German College of General Practitioners and Family Physicians (DEGAM) published his own cough guidelines.The guideline contains 48 recommendations agreed by consensus and 16 statements, which are explained in the background text in the following nine chapters: epidemiology, physiology, classification, acute, subacute or chronic cough, diagnostics and therapy; an extra chapter was dedicated to chronic idiopathic cough. Further emphasis of the guideline is the physiology of cough in anticipation of the introduction of new drugs, as well as detailed treatises on cough triggered by affections in the upper respiratory tract or by gastroesophageal reflux. The guideline should provide the pneumologist with the latest knowledge from neighboring disciplines required for diagnosis and therapy of cough. The clinical chapters also contain a short summary, practical recommendations and a bibliography of their own. Three new, simplified algorithms for acute, subacute and chronic cough round off the Diagnostics chapter.

[Massive Morgagni Hernia as a Reason for Lung Function Impairment]. / Morgagni-Hernie als Ursache einer restriktiven Ventilationsstörung.

Hernia of Morgagni is the most rare of the four types of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (2 % - 3 % of all cases). In adults, it commonly presents with non-specific symptoms. In severe cases patients complain about shortness of breath and in lung function analysis a restrictive pattern can be observed. This paper presents a rare case of a massive diaphragmatic hernia of the right thorax which remained undiagnosed over many years and gives an up-to-date overview of the literature. The transabdominal approach using laparoscopic repair is favored in adults especially in non-acute cases. In our patient, the lung expanded postoperatively in most parts resulting in improvement of lung function and blood gas analysis.

[Inhaled Triple Therapy in Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)]. / Dreifachfixkombinationen (LAMA/LABA/ICS) zur inhalativen Dauertherapie der schwergradigen COPD.

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is characterised by persistent airflow obstruction caused by exposure to irritants including cigarette smoke dust, and fumes. Long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) and long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) in fixed-dose combination inhalers are the pillars of modern COPD therapy. LABA/inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) inhalers have been proved to be particularly efficient in patients with ≥ 2 exacerbations per year. Until recently, although recommended in guidelines for severe and unstable COPD patients, the clinical usefulness of the LABA/LAMA/ICS combination was a matter of debate. Recent trials with fixed-dose combination inhalers containing fluticasonfuroate/vilanterol/umeclidinium or beclometasone/formoterol/glycopyrronium significantly reduced exacerbation rates and dyspnea scores and improved lung function as well as quality of life better than the LABA/ICS, LABA/LAMA comparators or the single compounds in selected COPD trial patients. Beclometasone/formoterol/glycolpyrronium and fluticasonfuroate/umeclidinium/vilanterol are the first triple combination therapies approved in a fixed-dose inhaler for COPD patients. The domains of triple fixed-dose formulations are COPD patients in groups C and D.

[Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma - Guideline of the German Respiratory Society and the German Atemwegsliga in Cooperation with the Paediatric Respiratory Society and the Austrian Society of Pneumology]. / S2k-Leitlinie zur Diagnostik und Therapie von Patienten mit Asthma.

The present guideline is a new version and an update of the guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, which replaces the previous version for german speaking countries from the year 2006. The wealth of new data on the pathophysiology and the phenotypes of asthma, and the expanded spectrum of diagnostic and therapeutic options necessitated a new version and an update. This guideline presents the current, evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, for children and adolescents as well as for adults with asthma.

[Unmet need in asthma management and future treatment options]. / Tatsächliche Güte der Asthmaeinstellung und Möglichkeiten der zukünftigen Therapieoptimierung.

Despite health initiatives and extensive guideline efforts for advancing the management of asthma, evidence from epidemiologic studies suggests, that many asthma patients still have uncontrolled disease. The percentage of the uncontrolled disease stage is highly prevalent and eventually succeeds the 50 % range depending on the disease severity. There is urgent need for improved care particularly in moderate as well as in severe asthma. Implementation of treatment plans, the focus on symptom control, better patient-caretaker communication and most importantly improvement of specific treatment options are the cornerstones for success. Tiotropium, the first long-term antimuscarinic compound, was approved for asthma treatment in 2014, new developed inhaled corticosteroids as well as ß2-mimetics and inhaler types will enhance the physician's armamentarium to treat this disease better. Agents aimed at inhibiting cytokines, such as mepoluzimab, daclizumab, reslizumab and others hold to various degree promise in the treatment of asthma. Other agents under investigation include phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitors and oligonucleotides. In summary, there is future promise for substantial therapeutic advances in moderate and severe persistent asthma.

[Inhalation therapy, patient's perspective]. / Patientenpräferenz von Inhalern.

The cornerstone of drug application in obstructive pulmonary diseases is by inhalation as advocated by all treatment guidelines. Today, there exists an extensive choice of inhalers and new models. Numerous inhaler types are constantly being developed and introduced into the market making the "correct" selection a wearying task for the physician as well as for the patient. Improvement in the management of this aspect, which is often neglected in its importance in daily practice as well as in guidelines, is therefore reliant not only on the medications themselves but also on their effective delivery. Complicated inhaler mechanics and poor inhaler technique which do not meet the patient requirements and desires contribute to poor compliance eventually leading to poor disease control. In this review, the importance of inhaler acceptance and the degree of satisfaction with different inhaler types are discussed. This paper focuses on the behavioral and attitudinal evidence that the acceptance of the inhaler is linked to patient compliance, and its linkage on health and patient-reported outcomes.

[Novel drugs for COPD treatment]. / Neue Pharmaka zur Behandlung der chronisch-obstruktiven Lungenerkrankung (COPD).

Currently, numerous new compounds and inhaler types are reaching the market for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They comprise new long-acting beta-2 agonists, muscarinic antagonists and inhaled corticosteroids. Most of them are for combination treatment in new fixed-dose inhalers. Even the combination of three components in one inhaler is under development. Thus, management of COPD are getting more differentiated but also much more complex. This review gives an overview of the state of art of pharmaceutical research in this area and offers a glimpse into the proximate future.

[Epidemiology and costs of asthma in Germany - a systematic literature review]. / Epidemiologie und Kosten von Asthma bronchiale in Deutschland - eine systematische Literaturrecherche.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and incidence as well as the health care costs of asthma specifically in the German setting. METHODS: Two systematic literature searches were conducted in PubMed in December 2012 (updated in March 2014). All publications in German and English were included. RESULTS: After review of title, abstracts and full publications, 17 relevant studies included information on the prevalence and incidence of asthma. The 12-month prevalence for adults ranges between 4.6 % and 6.34 % (children: 3.8 % - 11.8 %). At younger ages, asthma is more prevalent in boys. In adulthood, more women are affected. We identified seven cost-of-illness studies. The direct costs range between €â€Š690.4 m and 1.36 bn. The reported health care costs depend on the perspective, the severity of disease and the database, so that a comparison of results is difficult. CONCLUSION: All in all, this review underlines the epidemiological and health economic importance of asthma in Germany. Several studies on the prevalence of asthma are available, but there is little information on the current incidence of this disease. Further research is necessary for obtaining a comprehensive picture of the current health care costs.

[Smoking cessation in patients with COPD]. / Tabakentwöhnung bei COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Cigarette smoking is the main cause of COPD. Quitting smoking is thus the most effective treatment strategy and central in COPD prevention. A number of guidelines on prevention, diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation of COPD have been published. To help implementing and standardizing smoking cessation in COPD a guideline was published 2008 in Germany focusing on this complex issue. The present guideline is an update of the 2008 guideline and has a high grade of evidence (S3 according to the AWMF; Arbeitsgemeinschaft wissenschaftlicher medizinischer Fachgesellschaften). The guideline gives comprehensive and practical information on how to integrate smoking cessation as an central part of COPD therapy.

Acute hemorrhage in monochorionic twins with ruptured velamentous vessels: anemic twin resuscitated by its co-twin through placental vascular anastomoses?

Monochorionic (MC) twin pregnancies are at increased risk of several complications including acute or chronic twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and twin anemia-polycythemia sequence (TAPS). Both TTTS and TAPS result from inter-twin fetofetal transfusion through the placental vascular anastomoses. In addition, MC twin pregnancies are at increased risk of having a velamentous cord insertion, which has been linked with poor perinatal outcome due to risk of rupture of the velamentous vessels. In sporadic cases, these vascular connections may have a positive effect instead of a deleterious effect. We present a case of acute fetal distress in a MC twin pregnancy caused by acute hemorrhage following rupture of velamentous vessels. An emergency cesarean section delivery was performed at 29+2 weeks' gestation. One infant was severely anemic at birth and required immediate treatment with volume expansion and blood transfusion. Acute fetal blood loss through the ruptured vessels led to an acute fetofetal transfusion from the co-twin through the placental vascular anastomoses. Delayed intervention could have resulted in severe hypovolemic shock and acute anemia in both fetuses. Instead, in the current case, placental vascular anastomoses had a transient protective role and allowed transfusion of blood from one co-twin into the circulation of the anemic twin.

[Early treatment of COPD with tiotropium]. / Evidenz für eine frühzeitige Therapie der COPD mit Tiotropium.

BACKGROUND: In a prespecified subgroup analysis of the 4-year trial "Understanding Potential Long-term Impacts on Function with Tiotropium", the efficacy of tiotropium versus control in patients with moderate COPD (GOLD II) was examined and compared with the pooled results of patients with more severe disease (GOLD III/IV). METHODS: Randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study in 5993 patients over a period of 4 years. Patients received either tiotropium 18 µg or placebo once-daily. The study endpoints were the annual FEV1 decline as well as lung function parameters, health status, exacerbations and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: 46 % of the patients had moderate disease (GOLD II; tiotropium: n = 1384, control group: n = 1355) with a mean postbronchodilator FEV1 of 1.63 (0.37) L (59 % predicted). In these patients with moderate COPD, tiotropium significantly improved the absolute FEV1 values (pre-bronchodilator FEV1: 101 - 119 ml, post-bronchodilator FEV1: 52 - 82 ml, p < 0.001) and the postbronchodilator FEV1 decline compared with the control patients (43 (2) vs. 49 (2) ml/year; p = 0.024). In addition, there was a statistically significant improvement in the annual exacerbation rate (tiotropium: 0.56, control: 0.7; p < 0.0001), the time to first exacerbation (tiotropium: 23.09, control: 17.47 months; p < 0.0001) and health status (tiotropium vs. control: minus 2.7 - 4 units; p < 0.0001) in the tiotropium group.  CONCLUSIONS: The results of this subgroup analysis support current guideline recommendations and indicate that already patients with moderate COPD (GOLD stage II) benefit clinically from treatment with tiotropium.

[Anti-inflammatory efficacy of N-acetylcysteine and therapeutic usefulness]. / Grundlagen der antiinflammatorischen Wirkung von N-Acetylcystein und dessen therapeutische Einsatzmöglichkeiten.

N-acetylcyteine (NAC) is a thiol containing compound which by providing Sulfhydryl groups, can act both as a precursor or reduced glutathione and as a direct scavenger of reactive oxygen species. By regulation the redox status in cells, it can interfere with several signaling pathways that play a role in regulation apoptosis, angiogenesis, cell growth, nuclear transcription and cytokine production. In humans NAC had been proven to improve idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), various forms of alveolitis and to avoid hepatoxic effects of paracetamol and paraquate through binding these compounds enabling biliary excretion. Overall, the anti-inflammatory action of NAC is well documented in vitro as well as in vivo. This review summarizes the biochemical effects of NAC and hints proven and likely diseases where NAC have or might have a beneficial effect.

[COPD and Clinical Trials. Results of an expert meeting "Castles in the Air" 2010]. / COPD und Studien. Ergebnisse des Expertentreffens Luftschlösser 2010, Mainz, 3.­4. Dezember 2010 (Sponsor: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG).

Clinical trials in COPD patients aim at achieving progress in diagnosis and treatment. Study results should be applicable to a large number of patients. However, an analysis of the methods and design of current and previous trials reveals considerable room for improvement. COPD is a complex disease with different clinical phenotypes. Genetic factors need to be evaluated systematically to allow appropriate stratification of patients. Frequently used endpoints such as the FEV1 that had previously been considered reliable have shown limitations in recent trials. Thus, researchers now aim to identify new surrogate parameters that are related to the prognosis of the disease, e. g., composite endpoints and biomarkers. Physical activity and capacity are becoming increasingly important for the evaluation of disease progression. The focus of pharmaceutical development is long acting bronchodilators and new anti-inflammatory drugs. The value of non-drug interventions will also be evaluated.

[The anti-Jo-1 syndrome - a specific form of myositis with interstitial lung disease]. / Das Anti-Jo-1-Syndrom - eine Sonderform der Myositis mit interstitieller Lungenerkrankung.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) may be associated with systemic inflammatory disorders and autoantibody production. The development of ILD has been described in detail in patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Anti-synthetase antibodies, including anti-Jo-1 antibodies (antihistidyl-tRNA syntase), are found in up to 35 % of patients with myositis, 80 % of which constitute anti-Jo-1 antibodies. The anti-Jo-1 syndrome characteristically presents with myositis, shortness of breath, fever, polyarthritis/arthralgia, mechanic's hands, dermatomyositis-like skin lesions, signs of a connective tissue disease and/or Raynaud's phenomenon. ILD is an early diagnostic sign and shows focal infiltrates and an acinar pattern in CT scan. Non-specific interstitial pneumonitis with T-lymphocytic infiltrates in lung histology (VATS) or elevated IFN-gamma-inducible chemokines are further indicators for anti-Jo-1 syndrome. Corticosteroids eventually combined with an immunosuppressant drug are often required with reported beneficial effects, although not many therapeutic studies have been performed. Here we present a review of the current literature and a case report on anti-Jo-1 syndrome.

Guidelines of the German Respiratory Society for diagnosis and treatment of adults suffering from acute or chronic cough.

The first set of German guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from acute or chronic cough was published in 2004. Scientific developments over the past five years necessitate an update. The purpose of this document is to assist in ascertaining underlying causes and treating cough, in order to eliminate or minimize impairments of patients' health. The guidelines aim to introduce scientifically founded, evidence-based steps for the diagnosis and treatment of cough and optimize cost-effectiveness. Recommendations are assessed through the GRADE system (The Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation). Cough as a symptom is categorized as either acute (lasting up to 8 weeks) or chronic (lasting more than 8 weeks) and attributed to distinct diseases. For acute and chronic cough the diagnostic algorithms are updated; cost effectiveness is also taken into account. Additionally, the most frequent diagnostic errors are highlighted. Finally, available therapeutic options are discussed.

[COPD and infection]. / COPD und Infektion.

Infections are frequent and important causes of exacerbations in patients with COPD. This article reviews underlying mechanisms and therapeutic consequences. A complex interaction exists between COPD, co-morbidities, physical inactivity and systemic inflammation. The components of the postulated chronic inflammatory systemic syndrome need to be identified in more detail; physical inactivity seems to be the least common denominator. The patient's adaptive and innate immune systems play a role for the pathogenesis of infections. When interpreting positive bacterial cultures, it is important to differentiate between colonisation and infection. The impact of viral infections in COPD exacerbation needs further clarification, including the task to distinguish acute infection from viral persistence. Community acquired pneumonias pose a special risk for patients with COPD. Clinical scores and procalcitonin serum concentrations can support decisions on whether or not to start antibiotic treatment. Antibiotics probably do not need to be taken for longer than 5 days, since their efficacy does not increase after longer treatment, while adverse events rise in frequency. Hospitalisations for respiratory exacerbations are associated with increased mortality in COPD.