Olamansi Asthma Case Study

History of Present Illness: Ms. Dahlberg is a very pleasant 69-year-old woman who suffers from poorly controlled asthma. She has a recent exacerbation requiring hospitalization at Anna Jaques Hospital in June. Since discharge, she states that she has done well. She has stable dyspnea on exertion. She does feel that perhaps it might be slightly worse given the heat and humidity. She is not complaining of any cough. She is compliant with her bronchodilator regimen.

R.J. is a 15-year-old boy with a history of asthma diagnosed at age 8. His asthma episodes are triggered by exposure to cats and various plant pollens. He has been using his albuterol inhaler 10 to 12 times per day over the last 3 days and is continuing to wheeze. He normally needs his inhaler only occasionally (2 or 3 times per week). He takes no other medications and has no other known medical conditions. Physical examination reveals moderate respiratory distress with a respiratory rate of 32, oximetry 90%, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) 60% of predicted, and expiratory wheezing.

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.

The goal of treatment is to reduce occurrence of symptoms, prevent exacerbations, maintain normal or near normal pulmonary function, and for the patients to live a normal life as much as possible. According to the NAEPP, asthma control is the degree to which the manifestations of asthma are minimized by therapeutic intervention and the goals of therapy ae met (Woo & Wynne, 2012, p. 996). The Expert Panel Report 3: guidelines recommend a step wise approach to pharmacological management of asthma. It can be a step down approach, where treatment can begin with a higher level of therapy or step up approach, where the initial treatment starts low, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition during the initial visit. The medications are divided into 2 categories: 1) quick-relief medications to

Avoiding and controlling asthma triggers is important in every phase of the intervention process in order to manage the disease. However, many times because of lack of awareness and education, asthma

The effect of asthma can range from mild, irregular symptoms causing minor problems for an individual to severe and sudden asthma attacks. The extent of what causes asthma is not well known or fully understood but some common triggers include, cold temperatures, dust mites, cockroaches, pollen, sickness, mould and animal hair. When triggered, the airways in the lungs become inflamed and constricted causing shortness of breath, chest pain and wheezing [R]. Currently, there is no cure for asthma however symptoms can be managed with medication and improved living standards [R]. Asthma symptoms are commonly controlled with the use of inhalers, either preventers (taken to desensitizes airways to triggers) or relievers (provides instant relief by relaxing the muscles) [16].

Asthma is best described as a chronic inflammation the pulmonary lower airways because of hyperresponsiveness of lower airway obstructions that is usually reversible (Fireman, 2003). Asthma is triggered by cold air, exercise, viral upper respiratory infections, cigarette smoking, and respiratory allergens. One in 12 people in the United States has been diagnosed with asthma which is approximately 25 million people which accounts for 8% of the total population (AAAAI, 2016). It is estimated that the average cost for care of asthma in the United States is about $3,300.00 yearly in related medical expenses, missed school, missed worked days and early death (AAAAI, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to describe the long-term treatment

B) There are many side effects that go along with each treatment. Some people tend to get more while others tend to just stick with the most common. Having more side effects would be something that is towards and individual, and matters by how strong ones immune system is. Some of the effects would be: anxiety, constipation, dehydration, dizziness, hair loss, fever, itching and etc.

There were two double-blinded, 24-week trials to make sure the product was safe to use on people age 12 and up. These people must have the F508del mutation in order to be considered for the use of the drug. These two trials consisted of 1,108 patients receiving Orkambi, lumacaftor, or a placebo. Though there were ten more patients in the second trial with the mean age of both groups being 0.1 years off from each other, the results turned out to be the same. The patients that had the Orkambi treatment showed a significant improvement in their lung function. Studies on how BMI was affected were also added into the benefits of taking Orkambi. Orkambi received a breakthrough therapy and a priority review was conducted on this drug before the start of clinical trials and it took 6 months instead of the standard 10 months. The drug was tested to show health improvements and

It is important that medication is reliable in its treatment effectiveness as well as the cost aspect. A study conducted by Brunetti, et al., compared the clinical outcomes and costs of albuterol versus levalbuterol for treatment of

The stepwise approach is used to adjust the treatment of asthma. Based on the patient’s condition, the medication can either be increased or decreased. This is known as either

Just a quick overview of what Cinqair does for patients Cinqair (reslizumab) is an interleukin-5 antagonist monoclonal antibody (IgG4 kappa). Reslizumab is expressly specified for the supplementary upkeep treatment of patients with severe asthma 18 years old+ eosinophilic phenotype. Cinqair is provided as a solution for IV administration. Recommended dose is 3 mg/kg once q4 weeks given by IV over 20-50 minutes.

Not all patients would continue to regularly use the new drug, even if recommended to do so by their doctor. The compliancy range was felt to be 75-94%, with an average of 87% expected.

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.