As summer continues, the current issue of our Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology focuses on key clinical areas of asthma.
We have our first article in a new series of Master Clinician articles. These articles provide concise advice and easy-to-use diagrams on how to diagnose and/or treat key clinical topics. Our first Master Clinician is Dr. Larry Borish. His article is on how to treat type 2-low asthma. Several related asthma articles on type 2-low or non-eosinophilic asthma are also included in this issue. Dr. Halehsadat Nekoee Zahraei and colleagues performed a clustering analysis and found two different asthma cohorts — one with a higher rate of smoking and late onset disease while the second was male predominant with a higher rate of atopy.
Two articles examined the potential mechanisms for type 2-low asthma and either involved the prostaglandin pathway (in an article from Dr. Seong-Dae Woo and colleagues) or the cholinergic pathway (a study from Dr. Dan Huang and colleagues). It is important to think about these pathways as new asthma medications are being developed. Dr. Bradley Chipps and colleagues provide an analysis of a novel asthma control tool (Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire) in predicting asthma exacerbations. Their data demonstrates some superiority compared to other asthma control tools (e.g., Asthma Control Tool or GINA-symptom control tool).
This month, two articles share the theme of fire in different aspects. Dr. Brittanie Neaves and Dr. Christopher Coop provide an excellent article on fire ant immunotherapy with useful clinical guidance on how and when to start immunotherapy. The CME review in this month’s Annals examines the effects of extreme weather on the health of underserved communities. In the CME review the role of fire is discussed – specifically how increased forest fires affect asthma.
A note about a future “must read” item in Annals – be on the lookout in an upcoming print issue for an editorial by ACAAI President Gailen Marshall and President-elect Jim Tracy on the recent article, “A systematic review and expert Delphi Consensus recommendation on the use of vaccines in patients receiving dupilumab: A position paper of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. The editorial will provide additional insights into this discussion.
Enjoy the summer, and may you avoid extreme weather as you read this issue of Annals (our 81st year of publication!). And, as always, if you have any comments, please consider sending correspondence to Annals (email us at annals@ACAAI.org). We are always excited to hear how Annals has helped you improve the lives of your patients!
Jonathan Spergel, MD, PhD, FACAAI
Deputy Editor
