Asthma in adolescents and adults.
More than 16 million U.S. adults have asthma, a condition that prompts 2 million ED visits and nearly half a million hospital admissions annually. Management of this potentially deadly, chronic inflammatory disease depends on early diagnosis, accurate classification, appropriate treatment, and targeted patient education. This article outlines current guideline recommendations for asthma and reviews what clinicians need to teach patients about its pathophysiology, pharmacotherapy, self monitoring, and environmental control. The authors discuss the classic clinical presentation of the disease, describe how to assess severity and control, and explain how such assessments can guide management.
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing and Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center, USA. sjsmith@uic.edu
Susan
S
Corbridge
Thomas C
TC
Corbridge
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055745:Bronchioles / Q000503:physiopathology; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology; D013147:Spirometry; D055815:Young Adult
D001993:Bronchodilator Agents