Allergy and asthma proceedings :
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Allergy Asthma Proc · Sep 2004
Low incidence of complications in asthmatic patients treated with preoperative corticosteroids.
The purpose of this study is to establish the incidence of perioperative complications in asthmatic patients treated with preoperative corticosteroids and to compare these rates to the general surgical population at the same hospital. Using a retrospective cohort design, we studied 172 patients who underwent 249 procedures at our hospital between 1986 and 2002. Preoperative corticosteroids were administered in 240 of the procedures. ⋯ One death occurred intraoperatively as a result of a neurosurgical complication. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of infections between our asthma population and the general surgical population in the same hospital except in gynecologic procedures. We conclude that asthmatic patients who are treated with corticosteroids before undergoing surgery have a low incidence of complications.
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Allergy Asthma Proc · Sep 2004
IgE antithyroid antibodies in patients with Hashimoto's disease and chronic urticaria.
Although chronic urticaria may be associated with the presence of serum anti-thyroid antibodies, it is not known whether these antibodies play a causal role in the urticaria. We therefore sought to determine whether the anti-thyroid antibodies seen in patients with urticaria were of the IgE class. ⋯ Only 2 of 20 patients with urticaria and IgG anti-thyroid antibodies had detectable IgE anti-thyroid antibodies: 1 patient had anti-thyroid peroxidase IgE antibody and 1 patient had anti-thyroglobulin IgE. IgE anti-thyroid antibodies do not appear to play a causal role in urticaria in the majority of patients.