Asthma Review Paper

Asthma is a serious problem nationwide. It is also a significant problem in the state of Massachusetts, especially in communities in Boston. However, according to Harvard School of Public Health and NIEHS Center for Environmental Health, Roxbury and North Dorchester are highly noticeable hotspots (Backus, Terrell, Wool, & Straubel, 2012, p. 23). For the purpose of this paper, the main focus will be on asthma cases in

To better understand the impact of asthma, a brief overview of the causes (aetiology) and disease progression (pathophysiology) must be shown. As common as asthma is, not much is known about its aetiology, according to findings presented by Subbaroa, Mandhane and Sears (2009, pg. 181-187) in a review from the Canadian

Asthma is a respiratory disease that many people deal with every single day. “According to World Health Organization, approximately 180,000 people die from asthma each year.” (Jardins and Burton 187) Most people never think of asthma as a life threatening disease, but it can be crucial. As the number of people with asthma increases, the more likely you are to come in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with this disease. Asthma is a severe breathing problem that has many complications that is dealt with daily like shortness of breath, chronic cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, my main focus is childhood asthma, allergic asthma, and medication to treat asthma.

Asthma is a chronic condition affecting the respiratory system and has a considerable impact on both individuals and a population. Everybody is susceptible to asthma, some more than others, depending of a variety of factors including, age, sex, geographical location and income. Asthma is particularly prevalent in younger children and the elderly and while it can be fatal, most people have mild cases of asthma that are relatively easy to treat. The condition mainly impacts an individual’s physical ability to contribute to a community.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects the airways, which is comprised of tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. People who experience difficulties breathing have inflamed airways. The inflammation causes the tubes to swell and become sensitive, especially when inhaling strong substances. As a result, the airways tighten and the muscles around the tubes become swollen and narrower. In addition, cells in the airways might produce more mucus. This sticky and thick mucus makes it even more difficult for air to pass into the lungs.

I. Introduction: Looking at Asthma and breaking it down to fully understand the chronic disease.

Discuss the prevalence of asthma in certain patient populations that you might see in primary care. Asthma is chronic airway inflammation disorder that is characterized by persistent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and non-productive cough, mainly at night and in the early morning. The inflammation of the airway results from physical, chemical, and pharmacologic stimulus, which causes bronchial hyper-responsiveness, constriction of the airways, edema of airway wall, and chronic airway remodeling (Cash, 2014). Asthma occurs at all ages, with about 50% of all cases developing during childhood and another 30% before age 40. In the United States, it is estimated that 25 million people have asthma and the prevalence continues to increase (McCance, & Huether, 2014). Previously, asthma was considered

Asthma control varies over time due to severity and changes in the environment, for example, home, school and or work environments. There are several medications and combinations used to control asthma attacks. The first line of medication are inhaled corticosteroids used to prevent and reduce airway swelling and inhaled long-acting beta agonist used to keep the airways open and relaxed (AAFA, 2015). Examples of long-acting corticosteroids are fluticasone, budesonide, mometasone, beclomethasone, ciclesonide, flunisolide. Examples of LABA medications are salmeterol and formoterol; it is important to remind patients that these medications are not to be used in emergency situations. At times, both medications are used together in a single medication to treat asthma and prevent attacks. Some caution that patients should be aware that when using combination medication, the risk for severe asthma attacks increase (Mayo Clinic, 2015). Examples of combination medications are Advair (fluticasone and salmeterol), Symbicort (budesonide and formoterol), Dulera (mometasone and formoterol) and Breo (fluticasone and

In this article Dr. Foaud explains the inflammatory response that occurs in the airways of asthma patients and how the different types of cells and respiratory epithelial interact in the process. Respiratory epithelium, mast cells, eosinophils, basophils, and leukocytes all play an critical part in not only the inflammatory response but also in the way that they may be utilized to inhibit the response to help treat asthma. The article also explains how chemokines recruit inflammatory cells to the airways. The inflammatory response seen in asthma

Asthmatic individuals can suffer from a reduced quality of life that is both physical and psychological. It was estimated in 2009 that approximately 17.5 million adults, and 7.1 million children suffer from asthma. An estimated total cost of this disease in 2010 was $20.7 billion dollars (Quality, 2014). This paper will focus on Pathopharmacological foundations, pathophysiology, pharmacological treatments, and the social and environmental impacts of asthma on our communities and nation.

Asthma is a serious, chronic and widespread disease that affects more than 300 million people around the world. There is no cure for asthma, and it can affect anyone, male or female, children or adult.

According to U.S. Department of health and human services (2007), symptoms and the lung function test result determine the severity of the disease, which classifies the level of asthma. Thus, based on the fact that Geronimo’s asthma is chronic, the symptoms have been developing for the past ten days, and the symptoms triggered by physical activities, Geronimo’s asthma is categorised as persistent. According to Department of Health, Government of South Australia (2008), the symptoms of persistent asthma activated by physical activities and occur in most of the day of a week. However, to provide the most effective treatment, persistent asthma is divided into mild, moderate and severe according to the pattern and intensity of symptoms. According to the condition when admitted to the hospital, the FEV1 was 1.64 L (55% of predicted), the symptoms have been occurring daily and limiting the activity and sleep at night, Geronimo had severe persistent asthma. The symptoms of persistent asthma occur daily and frequently, causing the restriction of the activities or sleeping disruption, and the FEV1 is less than 60% of the normal level without treatment (National Asthma Council Australia, 2015). Furthermore, after the treatment, the FEV1 has improved to 74% of predicted and the other symptoms are controlled.

The Asthma severity is determined by lung function values and asthma symptoms. However there are essential issues involved in asthma severity that include symptoms and objective measures of lung function on the same scale. For example, frequent symptoms have the exact significance as (FEV1 below 60% predicted). This makes sense to the clinician .However it is difficult to support, as studies have shown that there is poor relationship between asthma symptoms and objective measures of lung function.22,23

3. What components of the patient’s asthma management plan should be monitored during a home visit?

Asthma is a chronic airway disease that can be difficult to manage, resulting in poor outcomes and high costs (Kuhn et al., 2015). It is characterized by episodes of expiratory airflow obstruction, which occurs in response to multiple stimuli or triggers. Asthma is a lifelong disease, and symptoms include wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Attacks can be mild, moderate, severe, or even life threatening and limit a person’s way of life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2011). There is no known cure for asthma, but symptoms can be controlled by avoiding the triggers and taking prescribed medicines that prevent or minimize symptoms.