The Influence of Insulin Therapy on the Course of Acute Exacerbation of Bronchial Asthma.

Large doses of systemic corticosteroids are the basis of treatment of acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. The hyperglycemic activity of systemic corticosteroids often leads to the loss of control of diabetes diagnosed earlier or to its first diagnosis during treatment of the exacerbation of asthma. We conducted a prospective, randomized study in a group of 24 adult patients treated for asthma exacerbation, with the blood glucose level at admission above 8.4 mmol/l. The patients were randomly divided into a group treated with intravenous insulin infusion by an electric syringe pump in doses controlling glycemia at 4.5-7.2 mmol/l (Group A) and a group of patients treated with insulin administered subcutaneously in three doses controlling glycemia at 7.2-10.0 mmol/l (Group B). A control group (Group C) consisted of patients without any disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism, treated for exacerbation of asthma. Asthma exacerbation was treated in all groups in a uniform way. We found that the average hospitalization time was 8.2 ± 2.4 days in Group A, 10.2 ± 5.2 days in Group B, and 5.8 ± 1.9 days in Group C; the last being significantly shorter than those in Groups A and B. We conclude that hyperglycemia is a significant factor increasing the risk of extending hospitalization time due to asthma exacerbation, regardless of the way of insulin therapy.

Familial idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease of unknown etiology, with an appearance of usual interstitial pneumonia on lung biopsy. To-date, about a 100 families diagnosed with IPF have been described. Familial IPF is defined as histologically confirmed IPF occurring in two or more members of a family. Familial pulmonary fibrosis is hereditary, most probably as a feature which is autosomal dominant with variable penetration. Since 2002, we have been following two families with IPF, referred to in the present article as A and B. The patients in Family A included brother, sister, and sister's daughter. We examined two closest relatives of the patients in family A who are healthy. The patients in Family B included father and his two children. In Family B, we examined six other closest relatives, all of whom proved healthy. In all cases, IPF diagnosis was confirmed histologically. We examined human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles in both families, including antigens Class I (locus A, B, and C) and Class II (locus DR). On the basis of the results obtained it is impossible to determine the relation between major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphisms and the incidence of the disease.