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May 21, 2008 |
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Welcome to ACAAI eNews
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When prescribing a drug with a Black Box warning, readers responding were mixed, with the majority receiving some type of consent. Conversely, 36 percent do not obtain any consent from the patient.
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Distance Learning |
2007 ACAAI Annual Meeting Vodcasts
Link
2007 ACAAI Annual Meeting CME Webcast
Link
Conferences On Line Allergy Initiative (COLA)
Link
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Periodicals |
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Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Current issue
• AllergyWatch
Current issue
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Calendar |
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JUNE
XXVII EAACI Congress
June 7-11, Barcelona, Spain
Tel: +46 8 459 66 00
Fax: +46 8 661 91 25
Email
Link
Asthma & Allergy Society of Virginia Annual Conference
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
June 21-22, Virginia Beach, Va.
Contact: Donald Zedalis, M.D.
Tel: 540-552-7226
Email
JULY
26th Annual Aspen Allergy Conference
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
July 22-26, Aspen, Colo.
Contact: Jill Hibbeln
Tel: 303-733-9590
Email
AUGUST
The Alabama Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology's
29th Annual Postgraduate Course
Aug. 8-10, Destin, Fla.
Contact: Richard Carson
Tel: 334-954-2577
Email
9th Annual Tennessee Society Meeting
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Aug. 22-24, Franklin, Tenn.
Contact: Anna Brooks
Tel: 865-342-7057
Email
OCTOBER
3rd International Symposium in Italy
Co-sponsored by ACAAI
Oct. 1, Verona, Italy
Oct. 3-4, Venice, Italy
Contact: Jacqueline Roberts
Tel: 301-938-2941
Email
Northwest Allergy Forum 2008
Washington State Society of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Oct. 3-5, Seattle, Wash.
Contact: Hannah Scott
Tel: 206-341-1353
Email
ONGOING
World Allergy Organization Society Meetings
ACAAI
CME Website
Contact: Mary Campbell
Tel: 847-427-1200
Email
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Sponsored
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Top
Stories |
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Depressive disorders linked to asthma severity
Depressive conditions reported both by patients and their primary care physicians may be associated with increased asthma severity, according to a study in Chest. Previous research linking depression and asthma severity used either patient surveys only or a formal psychiatric diagnosis of major depression. This study looked at how the primary care physician’s report correlated with patient surveys. Researchers obtained patient-reported depressive symptoms using the Geriatric Depression Scale among 257 patients, with mild-intermittent to moderate-persistent asthma, who were treated at a New York primary care practice. After adjusting for possible confounders, patient-reported depressive symptoms were associated with both asthma severity and poorer asthma control. Physician-reported depressive disorders were associated only with asthma severity. 
Obese patients’ comorbid factors may make asthma harder to control
Asthma severity in obese patients is not associated with more severe airway inflammation or airway obstruction, but obesity is linked to reduced lung volume or comorbid factors, according to a study in Allergy. Dutch scientists at Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede,
looked at factors related to asthma severity in 136 non-smoking adults with persistent symptoms. The obese subjects (BMI of 30 or more) had a higher expiratory volume in 1 second, a lower functional residual capacity/total lung capacity, a lower percentage of sputum eosinophils and sputum neutrophils, and lower exhaled nitric oxide values. However, they also had more comorbid factors. Obese patients were 2.3 times more likely to have gastroesophageal reflux and 3.1 times more likely to have sleep apnea.
Filaggrin variants confer susceptibility to asthma
Mutations in the filaggrin gene increase eczema risk and help determine disease duration with asthma development, according to a study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Researchers from Trinity College Dublin used a large longitudinal study to look at the effects of filaggrin gene mutations and the cumulative health burden of these prevalent mutations. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children included 14,000 children born in Avon, England, in 1991 and 1992. Genotyping showed that 8.8 percent of the children carried one or two copies of filaggrin gene mutations. Though associations were strong for nonatopic eczema, the odds ratios were notably stronger for atopic eczema. The study also showed that the filaggrin gene mutations were strongly associated with asthma in the presence of eczema, but not in the absence of eczema. |
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Message from ACAAI President Dr. Jay M. Portnoy
At the recent Board of Regents meeting in Washington, D.C., we met with Tom Kelly who is the director of the Indoor Environments Division of the EPA. The discussion centered on how allergists can collaborate with the EPA on a variety of programs. In particular, the EPA requested that members of the College support its Communities in Action for Asthma-Friendly Environments, which promotes community-based asthma programs and organizations that sponsor them. This network, which is a partnership between the EPA and the Allies Against Asthma program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provides online asthma management tools and resources to communities throughout the United States.
So far, more than 250 communities across the nation have signed up to participate in this network, and each one has pledged to recruit an additional community by next year. Perhaps you live in a community that already has joined this network. Or, if not, then you might consider starting one. The online toolbox provides everything you need to start an asthma community from examples of asthma action plans to job descriptions of asthma educators. If you need advice on how to measure ER and hospitalization rates, other communities that have already solved that question are willing to serve as mentors upon request.
I attended the annual meeting of this network at the 2008 National Asthma Forum in April. I listened to community leaders describe asthma programs that reduced ER visits and hospitalizations by up to 50 percent. Several of these were led by allergists while others were not. Yet all had one thing in common; they wanted to guarantee that people with asthma living in their communities received the best care that is available.
What impressed me most was that the EPA has created an online series of presentations that any of us can join simply by logging on. These programs are listed on its Web site and can be viewed live or as streaming videos afterward. This is precisely the type of program that the College has begun to develop with its Conferences On Line Allergy (COLA) initiative in which allergy conferences are available live and later for subsequent viewing in archival form.
So why should ACAAI members be interested in a network that consists largely of health plans, community organizations and public health departments? Primarily because these groups will determine how asthma is and will be managed at all levels of care. It is in our best interest — and more importantly in our patients’ best interests — that we participate in the development of this new system. Otherwise, asthma management programs will be designed without the input of allergists. The point is that allergists need to be involved in this effort because we can provide the expertise needed to ensure its success.
The Environmental Protection Agency has a primary interest in improving environmental factors that lead to illness. Allergists also have a primary interest in improving health by helping patients control environmental factors that lead to illness. While the EPA has expertise in environmental aspects of asthma, allergists have expertise in the medical aspects of asthma. What we need to do now is to get involved. Find out if you have an asthma community and, if not, consider starting one. The tools you will need are already available and mentors are ready to help upon request. And, if you do succeed, you might just win the 2009 National Leadership Award. But, of course, the real winners will be people with asthma who live in your community. If you do start or join an asthma community, please let me know at president@acaai.org so that we can share your story with other College members.
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Association
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Joint position statement issued on preparation of allergen immunotherapy extract
The College, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (JCAAI) issued a joint position statement May 1 in response to questions raised regarding the types of clinical personnel that are qualified to prepare allergen immunotherapy extract under physician supervision.
According to the statement, appropriate clinical practice requires that allergen immunotherapy extract prepared in the physician’s office that is not prepared personally by the physician should:
- Be prepared in accordance with the physician’s specific prescription or order;
- Be prepared by personnel with appropriate training and education including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, licensed or certified medical assistants, or other clinical personnel with comparable levels of training and education;
- Be prepared by clinical personnel who have been trained by the physician on proper extract preparation technique; and
- Be prepared under the physician’s supervision
ACAAI Board of Regents approves 2008-2009 officers slate
ACAAI Vice President Dr. Sami L. Bahna, Shreveport, La., was nominated as president-elect of the College for 2008-2009 by the Board of Regents at its May 2 meeting in Washington, D.C.
Upon recommendation of the Nominating Committee, the Board also slated the following nominees:
- Vice President: Dr. Dana V. Wallace, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- Treasurer: Dr. Stanley M. Fineman, Marietta, Ga.
- Regents (three-year terms): Drs. David I. Bernstein, Cincinnati, Ohio; Timothy J. Craig, Hershey, Pa.; and Russell A. Settipane, Providence, R.I.
The annual election of officers and regents will be held during the Annual Business Meeting, Nov. 11, when Dr. Richard G. Gower, Spokane, Wash., assumes the presidency.
During his visit to Capitol Hill, ACAAI Vice President Sami Bahna (left) met with Congressman Jim McCrery (R-LA-4th District), a ranking member of the Ways & Means Committee, who was aware of the negative ramifications of any proposed cuts in Medicaid or Medicare funding
Submit your abstracts online: Deadline is July 15
You can now submit your abstract online for the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Seattle, Nov. 6-11. The deadline is 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, July 15. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
To submit an abstract, go to the ACAAI Web site and click on the headline “2008 Annual Meeting Abstract Submission.” On-screen prompts will take you through the submission process.
If you have already begun to enter an abstract in the system ¬— but did not actually hit the
"submit" button — you must go back into the system and submit. After the abstract is submitted, you will receive an e-mail confirmation. Abstracts not officially submitted cannot be considered.
ABAI-certified College Members urged to apply for Fellow
Qualified ACAAI Members are invited to apply for promotion to Fellow once they become ABAI-certified.
“There are numerous advantages to being a Fellow of the College,” said ACAAI President Dr. Jay M. Portnoy. “These include voting rights, but also, you would then be eligible to serve on the Board of Regents or be considered for other key appointments of the College. We hope you will be among those new Fellows recognized at the Convocation.”
New Fellows will be honored and awarded fellowship certificates at the Convocation held Sunday evening during the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Seattle, Nov. 6-11.
New ACAAI Fellows honored at the Convocation in Dallas included Drs. Marc W. Cromie (left), Chattanooga, Tenn., and Eric L. Caplan, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Improve patient safety and enhance your liability protection
Patient safety and medical liability protection requires that you are well-informed about patient safety issues quickly and reliably. New free services can help your practice improve the speed and efficacy of these important alerts.
The College supports the numerous medical liability carriers, the FDA, medical societies and other organizations that have worked together to bring this service, the Health Care Notification Network (HCNN) to you.
The HCNN will deliver important product-related patient safety alerts, which are mandated by the FDA, via a secure, dedicated online network. This will replace the current delivery of these alerts to you in paper via U.S. mail.
Register today in the HCNN and receive FDA-related patient safety alerts online. You will need to input basic demographic information, including your preferred e-mail address. This process will take less than 2 minutes. Your HCNN User ID will be the primary email address that you provide. You will choose a password when you receive your first email from the HCNN.
ACAAI co-sponsors Verona & Venice conferences in October 2008
The College is again collaborating with the International Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Immunology at Georgetown University Medical Center, the Italian Society of Childhood Respiratory Diseases and the University of Florence to present the 3rd International Symposium: New Horizons in Allergy-Immunology and Pulmonary & Infectious Diseases.
The program includes a one-day conference in Verona on Oct. 1, followed by a two-day conference in Venice on Oct. 3-4. ACAAI speakers are Drs. Sami L. Bahna, Joseph A. Bellanti, Daniel Ein, Lawrence M. DuBuske and Myron J. Zitt. For registration and hotel accommodations for ACAAI members, contact Jacqueline Roberts at jbella007@aol.com or 301-938-2941.
Tours now available for the Israel conference Dec. 3-6
Visit the extraordinary city of Jerusalem when you attend the ACAAI-IAACI Conference in Israel, Dec. 3-6, 2008, jointly co-sponsored by the College, the Israel Association of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (IAACI) and Allergists for Israel (AFI).
The CME meeting will be held at the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel, situated in the heart of modern Jerusalem. It overlooks Liberty Bell Park and the Old City, and is within easy walking distance of the city's main cultural, historical and holy sites.
Pre- and post-meeting travel tours of Israel, Jordon and Egypt – as well as day trips during the conference – are now available. E-mail Lisa Keller with International Travel Exchange at lakeller7@yahoo.com or call 352-291-0448 or 215-275-7929.
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AMA Corner |
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Welcome to the AMA Corner prepared by Dr. Alnoor A. Malick, ACAAI Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates, to keep you abreast of important AMA news and developments affecting allergy-immunology.
Clock ticking on Medicare payment
The AMA, in testimony this week to the House Small Business Committee, urged Congress to take immediate action to avert looming cuts that will harm seniors’ access to care. Now Congress needs to hear from physicians about how critical the Save Medicare Act of 2008 (S. 2785) is for doctors and seniors.
S. 2785 would prevent the 10.6-percent cut in Medicare physician payments planned for July 1, retain current payment levels for the remainder of 2008 and enact a 1.8-percent increase for 2009. The bill also would continue “rural extender” provisions that are set to expire, and would give Congress time to work on a long-term solution to the broken Medicare payment system.
Physicians can call the AMA Grassroots Hotline at 800-833-6354 to be connected to their members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor and pass S. 2785. Or download the AMA’s Medicare Physician Payment Action Kit.
AMA hosts release of updated smoking cessation guideline
An updated guideline unveiled last week by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) identifies new counseling and medication treatments that can assist physicians and other clinicians in their attempts to help patients quit smoking.
Released May 7 during an event at the AMA’s Chicago headquarters, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update points to seven medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration as smoking cessation treatments that dramatically increase the success of quitting. The document also includes evidence that counseling, especially in conjunction with medication, can greatly increase a patient’s success in quitting. And it contains motivational interviewing strategies that clinicians can use with patients who are unwilling to quit.
New program helps physicians talk to patients about healthy behavior
A recent AMA survey found that two-thirds of patients want their physicians to talk to them about good health behaviors. This month, the AMA launched the Healthier Life Steps program—a comprehensive online toolkit, including patient screening checklists, intervention plans and motivational tools—to ignite greater discussion among patients and physicians about healthy lifestyle choices. Physicians can download these tools and other components free of charge and obtain continuing medical education credit for this program.
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Board Review Corner
Welcome to the Board Review Corner prepared by Drs. Bret R. Haymore and Jennifer W. Mbuthia, Senior and Junior Representatives of ACAAI’s fellows-in-training (FITs) to the Board of Regents. The Board Review Corner is an opportunity to help hone your Board preparedness.
To refer to a previous Board Review Corner, click the “FIT Archive” link in the left column.
Review Questions: : Chapter 27 of Pediatric Allergy: Principles & Practices, edited by Donald Y.M. Leung, et al. Review questions were written by Drs. Bret R. Haymore, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Kusum Sharma, Penn State University at Milton Hershey Medical Center.
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