Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are among the most common acute illnesses worldwide and are usually viral and self-limiting. They present as clusters of concurrent symptoms that can substantially impair daily functioning, yet management often remains focused on individual symptoms and is limited by inconsistent assessment and escalation practices, underuse of guided self-management, and fragmented care across healthcare stakeholders. A targeted review of the published literature informed the identification of four key gaps in the management of uncomplicated acute URTIs in adults and the development of nine preliminary position statements and a management algorithm, which a multidisciplinary Asia-Pacific (APAC) panel of eight experts refined through structured, facilitated discussion. The statements emphasize that URTI management should address co-occurring symptoms concurrently to improve symptom relief and daily functioning. Assessment should consider the nature, severity, and duration of symptoms, supported where appropriate by evidence-based clinical algorithms or decision tools, and identify persistent or worsening symptoms and red flags requiring further evaluation or escalation. Treatment should be individualized according to predominant symptoms, safety, patient preference, treatment acceptability, and likelihood of adherence. Guided self-management should include appropriate over-the-counter and supportive therapies, education on the expected illness course, and safe treatment use, including avoidance of duplicate active ingredients and consideration of drug interactions, adverse effects, treatment duration, and contraindications. Coordinated care among key stakeholders is important to support consistent counseling and timely escalation. The position statements and management algorithm offer a practical framework for coordinated symptom management across care settings. Their implementation may help reduce unnecessary healthcare utilization and inappropriate antibiotic use and should be evaluated across APAC settings.
Pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) are a common device type used to deliver various inhaled medicines to the lungs of patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory diseases. Most pMDIs use hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) propellants, such as hydrofluoroalkane (HFA)-134a, which is a powerful greenhouse gas with a 100-year global warming potential (GWP) 1530 times more potent than CO2. Legislation in developed countries, particularly in Europe, will reduce the availability of high-GWP propellants, enforcing the phase-down of HFC-containing pMDIs within the next five years. Inhaler manufacturers are at various stages of research and development and regulatory approval to reformulate pMDIs with next-generation propellants (HFA-152a, hydrofluoroolefin (HFO)-1234ze[E]) with a much lower carbon footprint. If the transition is not carefully managed, there are risks to patient health. From the patient perspective, the transition must be seamless. Here we aim to provide a clear, consensus-based framework to deliver this transition. Following a policy roundtable which included stakeholders across the respiratory community, four key principles were outlined: (1) patient safety and seamless continuity of access; (2) securing supply through shared responsibility and collaboration across the respiratory community; (3) alignment of regulatory and policy interventions across jurisdictions; (4) building trust through credible, clinician-centred communication. These principles prioritise patient health, while recognising the need to balance environmental commitments as we transition from current to low-GWP inhalers. This framework serves as a call to action, and we encourage all respiratory stakeholders to use the principles as a foundation for external discussions with policymakers and regulators.
To explore the impact of integrated medical and preventive interventions—comprising vaccine health promotion materials and a “vaccine health prescription” designed based on the 3Cs vaccine hesitancy model, led by CDC departments and implemented by hospital respiratory physicians—on the knowledge levels and vaccination rates of influenza vaccine (InfV) and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) among COPD patients. Using convenience sampling, we recruited COPD patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria from the respiratory outpatient department of Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital from June 2025 to January 2026 as study subjects. Inclusion criteria: (1) Aged ≥18 years and meeting COPD diagnostic criteria (post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < 0.70) with exclusion of other diseases; (2) Permanent residents of Guiyang City (referring to both registered and non-registered residents who have resided for more than half a year); (3) Meet the indications for InfV and/or PPV vaccination; (4) Voluntarily participate in the research and sign the informed consent form. Exclusion criteria: (1) Patients with contraindications to vaccination; (2) Patients who are unable to complete the questionnaire or refuse to participate in the study; (3) Patients who were vaccinated with InfV in 2025 and with PPV during the period from 2021–2025. A medical-prevention integrated intervention strategy designed by the Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention based on the 3Cs vaccine hesitancy model, and implemented by respiratory outpatient doctors at Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital.Outpatient doctors collected relevant information from COPD patients through questionnaires. Patients were randomly assigned to the control group and the intervention group. Vaccine hesitancy refers to the behavior of delaying or refusing vaccination when vaccines are available. The 3Cs model of vaccine hesitancy includes three dimensions: Confidence, Complacency, and Convenience. Confidence refers to the level of trust that individuals have in the safety and efficacy of vaccines, the healthcare system, and policymakers; Complacency refers to the perception that one is at low risk of infection, or the underestimation of the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, leading individuals to believe that vaccination is unnecessary; Convenience refers to the accessibility of vaccination, including geographical reach, economic cost, service hours, and ease of procedures.The intervention group received vaccine health education based on the 3Cs model and were recommended a “vaccine health prescription” for receiving InfV and PPV. The control group did not receive the aforementioned interventions. A second questionnaire survey was conducted by telephone one month after the patient was enrolled. Query the actual administration of InfV and PPV within 6 months after patient enrollment through the vaccination service system. The primary outcomes observed were InfV and PPV vaccination rates, hesitancy rates, and changes in the three dimensions of the 3Cs model. Of the 265 initially enrolled subjects, 9 were lost to follow-up (3.4%), leaving 256 for analysis (128 in each group). Post-intervention, hesitancy rates for InfV were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (21/128 vs 45/128), hesitancy rates for PPV were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (31/128 vs 60/128) ; vaccination rates for InfV were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group(54/128 vs 12/128), PPV vaccination coverage within the previous 5 years were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group(42/128 vs 12/128). Health promotion materials and ‘vaceine health preseriptions’ designed based on the 3C’s vaecine hesitancymodel, led by the CDC and implemented by hospital respiratory physicians, as part of a medical.prevention integrated intervention, can reduce vaccine hesitaney for Infv and PpV among COPD patients.increase awareness ofthe 3Cs, and improve vaccination rates.
Bronchial asthma remains a significant public health challenge, especially among school-aged children. Schoolteachers are often the initial responders to asthma attacks, making their role vital for early symptom recognition and first aid provision. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the knowledge, awareness, and response of schoolteachers to students with asthma. Between March 2024 and October 2024, a self-administered questionnaire was created on Google Forms and distributed to schoolteachers through WhatsApp groups of private and public schools across different districts in Greater Cairo. The questionnaire consisted of three sections assessing: (1) teachers’ experience and demographics, (2) basic knowledge of asthma, and (3) knowledge related to first aid response in an asthma attack. A total of 634 schoolteachers participated in the study. Of these, 361 (57%) reported having previously taught students with bronchial asthma, whereas only 176 (27.8%) had witnessed a student having an acute asthma attack before. A majority of participants (445/634, 70.2%) correctly identified the short-acting beta agonist (SABA) inhaler or nebulizer as appropriate first aid for an acute asthma attack. However, only 187/634 (29.5%) reported knowing the correct technique for using SABA inhalers or nebulizers during an asthma attack. More than half of the participants, 362/634 (57.1%), provided appropriate answers regarding the etiology of the disease, specifically whether it was a contagious disease or not. There was no statistically significant association between teachers’ knowledge level and their sociodemographic characteristics. Teachers in Greater Cairo demonstrated fair knowledge and awareness regarding asthma. However, they did not fully understand appropriate first-aid responses, a gap that underscores the need for more asthma education programs.
Influenza-related short videos have become an important source of health information on Chinese social media. In an ongoing "information disorder" environment, where digital misinformation is known to cause health harms, their information quality and influenza-specific public health implications on major short-video platforms remain insufficiently characterized. On October 7, 2025, new accounts were registered to search for short videos on TikTok and Bilibili using the keywords "(sic)(sic)" (influenza) and "(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)" (influenza) respectively. Basic information was extracted from each video, and quality was assessed using JAMA, GQS, modified DISCERN, and PEMAT, which do not verify factual accuracy. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. A total of 229 influenza-related short videos were included, primarily uploaded by doctors (n = 73, 31.9%) and non-professional individuals (n = 88, 38.4%). Disease knowledge constituted the main video content (n = 176, 76.9%), with treatment being the primary video theme(n = 85, 37.12%), and monologue the predominant video format (n = 84, 36.68%). Compared to Bilibili, TikTok videos featured shorter lengths, more recent upload dates, higher counts of likes, comments, and shares, and were posted by creators with larger fans counts (all P < 0.001). Bilibili scored significantly higher than TikTok on both JAMA (2.5 (2, 3)) and GQS (4 (4, 4)) scales (both P < 0.001); while TikTok scored higher on PEMAT comprehensibility (100 (82, 100)) and executability (67 (0, 67)) (both P < 0.001). Videos from physicians, news agencies, and non-profit organizations, and those focusing on treatment or diagnosis, generally showed higher quality. The four quality scales were positively correlated(all P < 0.05), while correlations between quality scores and engagement metrics were weak. In the context of ongoing information disorder, influenza-related short videos have become a major channel for public health information access, yet the overall quality of this content remains suboptimal, with deficiencies in key clinical and preventive points. Improving short-form science communication will require higher-quality content, stronger platform governance, and enhanced public media literacy.
