ABSTRACT
Background: Asthma, being a chronic inflammatory disease requires not only medical treatment but also complimentary healthcare, self-management strategies and interventions for the appropriate management and possible prevention of attack as well as reduction of school absences and days of restricted activity and decrease emergency room utilization
Methods: Randomized clinical trial [RCT] data reviewed for outcomes and processes associated with asthma educational and behavioral interventions provided by different types of health professionals. The study group has synthesized studies that identified barriers and interventions to improve asthma symptoms and management in children through searching in MEDLINE, Cochrane EMBASE, TOXLine and CINAHL considering papers starting from 1999
Results: Physician-led interventions were most successful for outcomes related to the use of health care. Multidisciplinary teams were best in achieving symptom reduction and quality of life. Lay persons were best in achieving self-management/self-efficacy outcomes. Components most frequently employed in successful programs are skills to improve patient-clinician communication and education to enhance patient self-management. Fifty percent of interventions achieved reduction in the use of health care and one-third in symptom control. A combination approach including self-management and patient-clinician communication involving multidisciplinary team members may have the greatest effect on most outcomes
Conclusion: Strong evidences suggest that the development of self-management and clinician-patient communication skills are essentially required and considered as critical factors for Asthma patients particularly children symptoms alleviation and outcomes improvement in the long term. This can be achieved by appropriate self-care, awareness programs through effective educational and behavioral intervention which are crucial components associated with success across outcomes and providers
Subject(s)
Humans , Child , Behavior , Health Education , Patient Outcome Assessment , Child , Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicABSTRACT
Objective: To detect the anticandidal activity of nine toothpastes containing sodium fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate and herbal extracts as an active ingredients against 45 oral and non oral Candida albicans (C. albicans) isolates. Methods: The antifungal activity of these toothpaste formulations was determined using a standard agar well diffusion method. Statistical analysis was performed using a statistical package, SPSS windows version 15, by applying mean values using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc least square differences (LSD) method. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: All toothpastes studied in our experiments were effective in inhibiting the growth of all C. albicans isolates. The highest anticandidal activity was obtained from toothpaste that containing both herbal extracts and sodium fluoride as active ingredients, while the lowest activity was obtained from toothpaste containing sodium monofluorophosphate as an active ingredient. Antifungal activity of Parodontax toothpaste showed a significant difference (P< 0.001) against C. albicans isolates compared to toothpastes containing sodium fluoride or herbal products. Conclusions: In the present study, it has been demonstrated that toothpaste containing both herbal extracts and sodium fluoride as active ingredients are more effective in control of C. albicans, while toothpaste that containing monofluorophosphate as an active ingredient is less effective against C. albicans. Some herbal toothpaste formulations studied in our experiments, appear to be equally effective as the fluoride dental formulations and it can be used as an alternative to conventional formulations for individuals who have an interest in naturally-based products. Our results may provide invaluable information for dental professionals.