ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to compare physician/patient differences in the perception of asthma. The data were obtained by questionnaires from 156 physicians and 148 asthmatics in four urban regions in Croatia. On a "bad day", 62% of physicians and 16% of patients perceived respiratory symptoms with statistically significant difference. The patients described asthma impact in terms of reduced daily activities and experienced emotional problems. Asthma was estimated as controlled in 28% of adults and 49% of children, nevertheless, 45% of adults and 22% of children reported respiratory symptoms. The patients seem to be satisfied with asthma control that does not correspond to suppression of symptoms, whereas physicians neglect patients' emotional problems and asthma impact on everyday life. The differences in the perception of asthma may reflect differences in beliefs about health. Physicians see health as an absence of symptoms, whereas patients regard being healthy as "being able".
Subject(s)
Activities of Daily Living , Asthma/drug therapy , Asthma/psychology , Attitude to Health , Physician-Patient Relations , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Asthma/complications , Child , Emotions , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Satisfaction , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Alveolar lung microlithiasis is a rare disease of unknown etiology, with familial feature in 50% of the cases. The onset of this disease in 2 sisters is presented.
Subject(s)
Calculi/genetics , Pulmonary Alveoli/pathology , Adult , Calculi/pathology , Female , Humans , Lung Diseases/genetics , Lung Diseases/pathologyABSTRACT
The present paper deals with 16 patients who were referred to the Clinical Hospital for Lung Disease "Jordanovac", Zagreb. On admission they were supposed to have or had already been diagnosed to have bronchial asthma. Numerous data from the patients' history were evaluated as well as the results of allergy tests (skin tests, RIST, RAST, eosinophils in the blood and sputum) and parameters of the functional lung diagnostics (blood gas analysis during rest and exercise, spirometry, flow-volume, body plethysmography). It was established that allergy diagnostics is not carried out as required, even though it is necessary in all chronic obstructive lung diseases. Skin tests, inspite of the problems on the standardization of allergens and the average number of positive reactions in healthy volunteers, represent a significant diagnostic method for the determination of the role of allergic reaction in bronchial asthma. It is necessary to combine them with the determining level for specific IgE in serum (RAST), which would, if the other conditions are satisfactory, be a basis for specific immunotherapy. The value of skin tests is greater since a good correlation between them and bronchial sensibility was found established by specific broncho-provocative testing. The correlation between eosinophils in the blood and the sputum with allergic sensibilization in asthma was not confirmed in this work. For evaluation the localisation and degree of obstruction as well as the effect of therapy in asthma patients the best functional test was found to be the flow-volume.
