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Sept. 24, 2008 |
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Welcome to ACAAI eNews
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Conferences On Line Allergy Initiative (COLA)
2008 ACAAI/AAAAI Certification/Maintenance of Certification Board Review Course
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Periodicals |
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Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Current issue
• AllergyWatch
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Calendar |
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SEPTEMBER
Arizona Allergy & Asthma Society Annual Meeting
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Sept. 27-28, Phoenix, Ariz.
Contact: Miriam K. Anand, MD
Tel: 480-838-4296
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
Update in Allergy and Immunology
Nassau University
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Oct. 16, East Meadow, N.Y.
Contact: Marianne Frieri, MD, PhD
Tel: 718-631-9440
Email
Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Society
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Oct. 17-18, Hot Springs, Va.
Contact: Eric Bletzinger
Tel: 270-684-6144
Email
New York Allergy & Asthma Society
Difficult Problems in Asthma, Allergy & Immunology
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Oct. 31, New York, N.Y.
Contact: Golda Hudes, MD
Tel: 212-595-6460
Email
NOVEMBER
XIX World Congress of Asthma
Nov. 5-8, Monte-Carlo
Contact: Mrs. Leonetta Baldini
Tel: +377 97 97 35 55
Email
Link
ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting
Nov. 6-11, Seattle, Wash
Tel: 847-427-1200
Email
Link
DECEMBER
ACAAI-IAACI Conference in Israel
Allergists For Israel
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Dec. 3-6, Jerusalem, Israel
Contact: Beth Goldfarb
Tel: 513-891-0880
Email
ONGOING
World Allergy Organization Society Meetings
ACAAI CME JOINT SPONSORSHIP ACCREDITATION
Contact: Mary Campbell
Tel: 847-427-1200
Email
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Sponsored
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Top
Stories |
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Infant acetaminophen use tied to asthma, allergic disease
Babies who are given acetaminophen during their first year are more likely to develop asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema later, according to a study in The Lancet. Researchers at Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington collected data from more than 200,000 children in 31 countries around the world who participated in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Parents of 6- to 7-year-olds were given questionnaires about asthma, eczema and related allergic disease symptoms, as well as details about acetaminophen use for fever during the child's first year and the previous 12 months. Researchers found that children who took acetaminophen for fever during their first year had a 46 percent higher risk of developing asthma at 6 to 7 years of age. The children also were 18 percent more likely to develop eczema and 32 percent more likely to develop rhinoconjunctivitis by age 6 to 7. 
Measuring teens’ NO levels doesn’t improve their asthma
Monitoring exhaled nitric oxide (NO) levels in adolescents with asthma, and adjusting their treatment accordingly, does not improve the course of their disease, according to a study in The Lancet. The study, conducted by the Inner City Asthma Consortium and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, examined approximately 550 adolescents in 10 U.S. cities. Researchers found that monitoring exhaled nitric oxide in addition to treatments recommended by the National Institutes of Health’s National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Guidelines showed no improvements over the treatments recommended by the guidelines alone.
FDA: Import Alert for Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. drugs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued Warning Letters to Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. and an Import Alert about the drugs they produce, citing serious manufacturing deficiencies at the company’s plants in India. The Warning Letters reference deviations from current U.S. Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) requirements at facilities in Dewas and Paonta Sahib. More than 30 different generic drugs could be affected. The Import Alert enables U.S. officials to proactively detain at the U.S. border any ingredients or products manufactured at these facilities. The action does not involve removing products from the market, and the FDA recommends consumers continue taking their medications manufactured by Ranbaxy.
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Association
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New brochure helps allergists spread word about inhaler transition
 This summer, a FOX television news reporter opened her segment with these statements: “A life saving medicine is changing and many patients have no idea. It could be deadly for the people with asthma. After the new year, you won’t even be able to buy the old kind. One patient told us, ‘It would be nice if someone told me. I never knew.’” Later in the segment, a pharmacist commented, “They don’t tell people anything.”
This news broadcast is just one of several on the upcoming deadline for the switch from CFC albuterol inhalers to HFA inhalers. To help make sure those with asthma or other conditions are aware, the ACAAI is equipping members with new tools to get the word out to the estimated one-third of patients with prescriptions for CFC albuterol inhalers that have yet to make the switch.
ACAAI members will receive 50 copies of a new brochure called Making the Switch: Breathe Easy with a New CFC-free Inhaler to share with patients. The brochure’s information also is posted as a presentation on the College’s Web site.
“Making all asthma patients aware of the upcoming deadline is a priority,” said ACAAI Past President Dr. Ira Finegold, the College’s representative to the U.S. Stakeholders Group on MDI Transition. “The new brochure helps allergists address concerns patients may have about the change, and it arrives this fall at a time when many of us see patients who are experiencing increased asthma symptoms.”
Albuterol is one of the top 10 most commonly prescribed medications in the United States.
The College is not alone in its efforts to let people with asthma and other respiratory conditions know they need to make a change to an HFA inhaler. The MDI Transition Team, including patient support groups, also is conducting outreach.
Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) has set up a Web site. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has also established www.TransitionNow.org to provide information to patients. Links to these groups and others are noted in the brochure and on the Web site.
“These are lifesaving medications,” said AANMA founder and President Nancy Sander in a recent news release. “Patients and medical professionals need to know that inhalers are changing and have the opportunity to make the switch in a medically responsible way. Our advice to patients: Get the facts. Know your options. Make informed choices.”
The brochure is supported by a grant from Teva Specialty Pharmaceuticals.
For more information about the transition to HFA, see the ACAAI and AAAAI letter on “Eliminating CFC-Albuterol” under What’s New on the member Web site.
Named lectures cover hot topics in allergy-immunology
 The ACAAI Annual Meeting in Seattle, Nov. 6-11, is chock full of practical scientific programs you and your patients can implement immediately. Hear what experienced faculty have to say about hot topics in allergic diseases at the named lectures, which include:
- John P. McGovern Lecture: Saturday, Nov. 8: “T-cells, Tolerance and Autoimmunity” – Dr. Lanny J. Rosenwasser
- Stanislaus Jaros Lecture: Saturday, Nov. 8: “Access to Care” – Dr. Michael B. Foggs
- Daniel Goodman Lecture: Sunday, Nov. 9: “Nasal Steroids are the Best” – Dr. Michael S. Blaiss
- Harold A. Nelson Lecture: Sunday, Nov. 9: “Exercise Induced Respiratory Symptoms: An Epidemic among Adolescents and Young Adults” – Dr. Stephen A. Tilles
- Bela Schick Lecture: Tuesday, Nov. 11: “Make a Difference – Be the Difference” – Dr. Dana V. Wallace
- Bernard Berman Memorial Lecture: Tuesday, Nov. 11: “Identifying the Stress Susceptible Patient: Immune and Genetic Perspectives” – Dr. Gailen D. Marshall
Online registration for the ACAAI Annual Meeting is fast and easy. You can also view the preliminary program online and select from a variety of workshops and Meet the Professor Breakfasts tailored to your needs.
Remember to purchase tickets for the Annual Meeting Fundraising Dinner and the amazing Cirque Ingenieux on Sunday evening, Nov. 9, benefiting the Foundation. The event is supported in part by grants from Alcon Laboratories, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Teva Specialty Pharmaceuticals.
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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.
AMA details how physicians can improve their practice’s competitive edge
Patients are seeking enhanced access to care and top-quality customer service, and physicians can keep their practices competitive by offering patients the access and convenience they want. The AMA, in collaboration with the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, has created an educational resource, “10 steps to enhance patient satisfaction in your practice,” that provides tips on how physicians can improve their practice’s offerings. Visit http://www.ama-assn.org and click on “Hot issues” to access this resource.
Input needed on Medicare’s PQRI
Physicians who participated in the 2007 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) have another opportunity to share their thoughts on the system. The AMA has developed a brief, confidential survey for physicians regarding their participation in the PQRI and how to improve it. Results of the survey will allow the AMA and other medical specialty and state organizations to effectively advocate for changes physicians would like to see in the PQRI. Visit http://survey.confirmit.com for a brief background on the PQRI and to take the survey.
Florida Supreme Court finds hospital law unconstitutional
Following a lengthy legal battle over medical staff bylaws control, patients were the big winners when the Florida Supreme Court recently prevented a hospital from infringing on doctors’ ability to safeguard high-quality medical care. The Aug. 28 ruling in Lawnwood Medical Center v. Lawnwood Medical Staff ensures that hospitals pursue an appropriate balance between patient care interests and corporate interests, and strikes down “St. Lucie County Hospital Governance Law,” a 2003 Florida statute that allowed hospital board polity to unilaterally supersede medical staff bylaws in conflicts over privileging, contracting and quality issues. The recent decision by the Florida Supreme Court affirmed a Florida appeals court decision last year that found the law unconstitutional.
The Litigation Center of the AMA and state medical societies, along with the Florida Medical Association (FMA), joined in supporting the Lawnwood medical staff by filing amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” briefs before the Florida Supreme Court and a lower-level appellate court. The Litigation Center and the FMA also provided substantial financial support to assist the medical staff in defraying its legal costs.
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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 36 of Pediatric Allergy: Principles & Practices, edited by Donald Y.M. Leung, et al. Review questions were written by Dr. Bret R. Haymore, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
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