Asthma Management: New Developments – Nurse Practitioner
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects over
339 million individuals worldwide. Characterized by variable
airflow limitation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, symptoms
include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and/or
cough. Asthma symptoms are episodic in nature, often worse
at night or in the early morning, and can be triggered by factors
such as exercise, airborne allergens, pollution, cigarette smoking,
weather changes (eg, very cold, low humidity), and viral upper
respiratory infections. To diagnose asthma, patients must have
a history of variable respiratory symptoms, as well as limited
expiratory airflow that has been confirmed with spirometry.
The long-term goals of asthma management are to achieve
good symptom control that enables patients to maintain normal
activity levels, to minimize persistent airflow limitation, side
effects from treatment, and asthma-related exacerbations, and to
prevent asthma-related death...