NAC Webcast, Dr Tomlins, A/P Bardin, A/P Fitzgerald, A/P Barnard, Ms Hogan

In this Issue October 2005

Webcast 'Combination Therapy - A Question of Balance'

In the Spring for 'Asthma... Think allergy'

Conference Diary 2005

Webcast 'Combination Therapy - A Question of Balance'

On Wednesday 26 October 2005, the National Asthma Council conducted its third national webcast for general practitioners, pharmacists and other health professionals. The focus was on asthma and combination therapy. Combination products are important for the management of people with moderate to severe asthma.

A/P Phil Bardin making his presentation during production of the webcast

Assoc Prof Phil Bardin making his presentation during production of the webcast

Webcast Available Now

If you did not view the webcast live, it is now available on demand at http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/html/management/prof_develop/pd002_wcast.asp

The Question and Answer Forum was very busy during the presentation. If you were unable to get your question through, or have thought of another question, the forum is open until 29 October.

Webcast Presentations include:

Introduction

Asthma and combination therapy – setting the scene

Assoc Prof Ron Tomlins, Chairman of the National Asthma Council, Discipline of General Practice, University of Sydney, General Practitioner in Sydney.

Assessing Suitability for Combination Therapy

Assoc Prof Philip Bardin, Director of Respiratory Research at Monash Medical Centre, Monash University Victoria.

Combination therapy: the Paediatric Perspective

Assoc Prof Dominic Fitzgerald, Paediatric respiratory and sleep physician, Deputy Head of the Division of Academic and General Medicine, the Children’s Hospital Westmead, Sydney.

Combination Therapy: GPs and Patient Education

Assoc Prof Amanda Barnard, Member of NAC General Practitioners’ Asthma Group, Associate Dean (Rural and Community School), and Head, Academic Unit of Rural Health, Medical School, The Australian National University, Canberra.

The Role of the Community Pharmacist

Ms Luisa Hogan, Asthma Educator, Community Pharmacist and Home Medicines Review Consultant, Victoria.

Questions for the Panel

There is still an opportunity to ask questions of the panel through to 29 October 2005 with answers being posted online within 24 hours.

CPD/CME/CPD&PI Points

The Webcast "Combination Therapy - A Question of Balance" attracts the following points for participation for the full hour of its duration and completion of the Evaluation Survey on-line afterwards.

CPD points (RACGP),

2 CME points (ACRRM) and

1 CPD&PI point (PSA).

Points may be gained for three months following the presentation of the webcast.

For further information

Webcast (http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/html/management/prof_develop/pd002_wcast.asp)

Proudly supported by GlaxoSmithKline Australia

National Asthma Council Website Launch

The new National Asthma Council Website launch will be launched in November. Watch this space!

Website Home page

In the Spring for 'Asthma... Think allergy'

In asthma, allergic inflammation is the major underlying abnormality affecting the airways.¹ This inflammation leads to bronchial hyper responsiveness to triggers, including infections, allergens and non-specific irritants.

Gardening Exposure to common aeroallergens such as house dust mite, animal dander, pollen or mould can initiate and maintain airway inflammation in most people with asthma.²

A comprehensive approach to asthma management includes:

identification of relevant allergen triggers
allergen avoidance measures where appropriate and possible
appropriate medication
specific allergen immunotherapy (SIT) where indicated.

Asthma and allergy facts

Australia has the second highest prevalence of asthma in the world. The reasons for this are unclear. However, it is known that:

the prevalence of asthma in Australia is approximately one in four children, one in seven adolescents and one in ten adults^3,4
the prevalence of asthma in Australia doubled between 1982 and 1992.⁵

There is a strong link between asthma and allergy:

around 40 per cent of Australians have allergic disease³
more than 80 per cent of people with asthma have evidence of allergic sensitisation⁶
early childhood asthma is associated with sensitisation to environmental allergens in many but not all cases
the level of early childhood exposure to indoor allergens correlates with allergen sensitisation^7,8
sensitisation to a greater number of allergens is associated with an increased prevalence of asthma.⁹

More Information

For an up-to-date, evidence-based summary of allergy and asthma management issues including practical advice on allergen avoidance go to:

Asthma and Allergy Information Paper

www.nationalasthma.org.au/HTML/management
/infopapers/health_professionals/1001_allergy.asp

References

1 Woolcock AJ. Asthma. In: Murray JF, Nadel JA, eds. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. Second Ed. Philadelphia: W.B.Saunders, 1994;2:1245-1258.

2 Arshad SH, Babu KS, Holgate ST. Anti-IgE therapy in allergy and asthma. London: Martin Dunitz, 2001.

3 Robertson CF, Dalton MF, Peat JK, Haby MM, Bauman A, Kennedy JD, Landau LI. Asthma and other atopic diseases in Australian children. Australian arm of the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood. Med J Aust 1998;168(9):434-8.

4 Abramson M, Kutin J, Czarny D, Walters EH. The prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms among young adults: is it increasing in Australia? J Asthma 1996;33(3):189-96.

5 Peat JK, van den Berg RH, Green WF, Mellis CM, Leeder SR, Woolcock AJ. Changing prevalence of asthma in Australian children. BMJ 1994;308(6944):1591-6.

6 Position statement. Environmental allergen avoidance in allergic asthma. Ad Hoc Working Group on Environmental Allergens and Asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;103(2 Pt 1):203-5.

7 Wahn, U., S. Lau, R. Bergmann, et al., Indoor allergen exposure is a risk factor for sensitization during the first three years of life. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 1997. 99(6 Pt 1): p. 763-9.

8 Melen, E., M. Wickman, S.L. Nordvall, M. van Hage-Hamsten, and A. Lindfors, Influence of early and current environmental exposure factors on sensitization and outcome of asthma in pre-school children. Allergy, 2001; 56(7): p. 646-52.

9 Sears, M.R., B. Burrows, E.M. Flannery, G.P. Herbison, and M.D. Holdaway, Atopy in childhood. I. Gender and allergen related risks for development of hay fever and asthma. Clin Exp Allergy, 1993; 23(11): p. 941-8.

Research Funding Opportunities

The National Asthma Council would be pleased to list funding opportunities that may be available for asthma research. Submit brief details for consideration by email to editor@nationalasthma.com.au.

Conference Diary 2005/6

Submit brief conference/meeting details to the National Asthma Council for possible posting in our Conference Diary by email to editor@nationalasthma.com.au.

10th Congress of APSR 1st Joint Congress of the APSR/ACCP Guangzhou, China November 11-14, 2005 APSR Information (http://www.apsr2005.com)
Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting 24th - 29th March 2006 Canberra National Convention Centre TSANZ ASM 2006 (http://www.thoracic.org.au/asm2006.html)
Australian & New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting 24th - 29th March 2006 Canberra National Convention Centre ANZSRS ASM 2006 (http://www.anzsrs.org.au/asm2006.html)
IPCRG 3rd World Conference "Respiratory Disease in Primary Care – Quality of care" 8 - 11 June, 2006 Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel, Oslo, Norway. theipcrg.org/oslo2006 (http://www.theipcrg.org/oslo2006/)