Sideline management of asthma.
The timely, efficient, and effective sideline management of asthma must be grounded on an understanding of the disease processes, awareness of evidence-based therapeutic intervention, and thorough knowledge of the individual athlete's medical history and current physical condition. There is accumulating evidence that exercise-induced airway narrowing, if unrecognized or inadequately treated, can progress to a severe life-threatening status and should always be viewed as a potential medical emergency. A widening range of therapeutic measures is currently available to prevent and to treat exercise asthma, and treatment must be tailored to the individual circumstances to optimize response.
Allen
Thomas W
TW
Department of Family Medicine, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa, 1111 S. St. Louis Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74120, USA. twallen@osu-com.okstate.edu