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.
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
Thomas W
TW
Allen