Research paper on asthma
Paper research ch papers on asthma reveal that it is a chronic lung condition with ongoing mation that results in recurring acute episodes of breathing problems such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of research papers from paper masters outline the information you see below. We have provided a sample here on how our medical, nursing and health writers cover a topic such as asthma. Use what you see here as a guide for your own project or have our writers custom write you a research paper on asthma or any other to begin a research paper on ch papers on asthma reveal that it is a chronic lung condition with ongoing airway inflammation that results in recurring acute episodes of breathing problems such as:This process occurs when inflammation constricts the airway in reaction to physical activity, respiratory infections, allergens, and irritants, giving the disease its medical name: reversible obstruction disease. Medical health research shows the lungs may only narrow or they may become blocked entirely, which ever the case, breathing is america, about 20 million people are suffering from asthma. This report defines asthma and outlines its symptoms and discusses how it is diagnosed and is an asthma attack? Your research paper on asthma will want to explore the instigators of an asthma attack. Included in that list are various medications such as aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs and beta the symptoms described above are typical indicators of asthma, not all people suffer in the same way. Research shows that some people may have the coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, while others may have a different combination of the symptoms at different times. One important way to manage asthma is by getting to know the early warning signs and signs of asthma come just before the beginning of an asthma attack. They are subtle changes that warn a person that his or her asthma is getting worse. Then, if these more severe symptoms are ignored, a person with asthma may enter what is known as the “red zone,” at which time an emergency asthma action plan must be initiated in order to save the person’s life. These symptoms include very rapid breathing, severe wheezing, chest pain, trouble talking, anxious or panicky feelings, blue lips and fingernails, and pale, sweaty are different types of asthma you need to outline in your research se-induced asthma is usually blamed for asthma in up to 80 percent of people who have been diagnosed with it. In many cases, however, exercise-induced asthma begins while a person is exercising and gets worse when he or she finishes. Symptoms mirror those of a mild asthma attack and include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and a tightening of the nal asthma can be caused by exposure to allergens in the bedroom sinus problems, and gastroesophageal reflux. Symptoms of nocturnal asthma commonly get worse at tional asthma is a lung disease brought on by breathing fumes, gases, or dust in the workplace. Researchers estimate that this type of asthma is blamed for about 9 percent of all cases. People with occupational asthma may have never suffered from asthma before, or they may have had it as a child and grown out of it. This form of the lung disease makes pre-existing asthma worse and can ultimately result in permanent lung damage if not prevented by completely avoiding the irritants. Sometimes a job change is necessary to avoid irreversible damage to lung ch on asthma are many treatment options for people with asthma:Bronchial ative most common way asthma is treated is through medication. Based on the type and severity of the asthma, a physician will decide which course of medication will be the most asthma patients take two medications: controller medicines, which helps the airways resist reactions to asthma triggers and controls the inflammation, and quick-relief or rescue medicine, which are also known as bronchodilators. Long-term control medications are prescribed for people with all types of asthma and are generally taken every day for a long period of time to control persistent asthma. Corticosteroids, while associated with side effects like hoarseness, loss of voice, cough and oral yeast infections, are the drugs of choice for many people because they are easy to use, reduce the frequency of asthma attacks, and diminish the need for other asthma medications. Another popular medicine prescribed to control asthma is odilators, like salmeterol and formoterol, are used to prevent nighttime symptoms and control moderate to severe asthma. According to the food and drug administration, who issued a public health advisory for three types of bronchodilators, advair diskus, foradil aerolizer, and serevent diskus may increase the possibility of severe asthma attacks and even death in the event of a severe triene modifiers are newer medicines and used primarily to lessen the production or block the action of leukotrienes, which are the materials that are released during an asthma attack by cells in the lungs. Drugs like singulair and accolate are alternatives to corticosteroids and work well for people suffering from mild asthma. And for people who have been diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma, doctors prescribe cromolyn and nedocromil, two drugs that are administered daily through an inhaler and help prevent mild to moderate asthma attacks. In addition to medications that help control asthma, there is a group of drugs used to offer -relief medicines for asthma are not meant to be used daily. While they may stop an attack and provide temporary relief, they do not prevent airways from swelling and could bring on a very bad asthma attack. Also called rescue medications, this group of short-acting bronchodilators stops asthma symptoms while an attack is in progress. These medications are also recommended when readings on a peak flow meter are below d research paper ent of children with bronchiolitis - curable in 7 days there are indications that infants who have 2 or more episodes of bronchiolitis before age 2 are more likely to develop allergies and pollution research papers - high ground-level ozone concentrations have been linked to increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits for asthma and other breathing ... Order a research paper on air pollution from paper iolitis research papers - the bronchioles carry air from the large bronchial tubes to microscopic air sacs in the lungs. To write a research paper on page is designed to show you how to write a research project on the topic you see to the left. Use our sample or order a custom written research paper from paper research papers - custom written research papers on any topic you need starting at $23. Per research paper services - learn about all of paper masters' custom research paper and writing your research paper worries in less than 5 minutes! A custom research paper on any online teed quality -time delivery via ential & masters - showing students how to write quality research papers for over 19 masters custom research papers on masters writes custom research papers on asthma and reveal that it is a chronic lung condition with ongoing mation that results in recurring acute episodes of breathing problems such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of order paper faqs e-mail : 925 words (2. Of you may not think of asthma as a killer disease, yet more that 5,000 americans die of asthma each year.
According to the mayo clinic web page, asthma also accounts for more that 400,000 hospital discharges annually. As the number of people with asthma increases, the more likely you are to come in contact with a person who has the disease. My mother and one of my sisters also have asthma, so i have a first hand experience with it. This morning, i will discuss some interesting facts about asthma, i will specifically focus on what it is, warning signs, symptoms, causes, and the treatments that are is best described by its technical name: reversible obstructive airway disease (road). In other words, asthma is a condition in which the airways of the lungs become either narrowed or blocked. To know what it really feels like to have asthma, i would like everyone to pick up the straw that’s on their desk and put it in their mouth as if they were using it to drink something. If we had more time, i would have the class go to a stairwell and have you run up and down and see what it is like to have asthma while doing other symptoms can range from mild to very severe. According to the book, living well with asthma, there are four main symptoms of an asthma attack. Here are the major elements of an asthma attack:-shortness of breath=described as tightness of the chest. Some people have trouble breathing during exercise, others experience it after inhaling smoke, while others need to ingest a particular food-regardless of the circumstance, all people with asthma have trouble breathing. Wheezing=not all people will asthma wheeze, but many to cite this on preschool asthma. Hearing the word, asthma stops a mom in her tracks, sends her heart into palpations and sends her mind into a whirlwind. Asthma means a child cannot breathe and if the child cannot breathe, surely, the child will die. However, in the vast majority of the cases, dying from asthma is simply not the case. Asthma is a chronic lung disorder that does not have to define the child but rather be part of the many identities that make up a child much like blue eyes.... The control of asthma in both adults and children has proven to be a challenge owing to the intricacy involved in the management of the disease. According to the global initiative for asthma (gina 1), the term refers to a clinical syndrome of “intermittent respiratory symptoms triggered by viral upper respiratory infections, environmental allergens or other stimuli and is characterized by nonspecific bronchial hyperesponsiveness and airways inflammation. Exercise-induced asthma is an acute transient airway narrowing that occurs during and most often after exercise. Exercise-induced asthma occurs not only in elite athletes and asthmatics, but it can also be found in non-asthmatics. The stimulation of exercise-induced asthma can range anywhere from inhaling allergens to hyperventilation or intense exercise.... For instance, a negative response to an emotional stress can cause an asthma attack (mark 1007). They say that there are no cures for asthma, and they also claim that there is some natural therapies that may help to manage symptoms of asthma. Weather your asthma is completely manageable and only shows up from time to time, or if you only have to deal with it on a daily basis, either way you have probably gone through your fair share of prescription medications.... Introduction most of you may not think of asthma as a killer disease, yet more that 5,000 americans die of asthma each year. My mother and one of my sisters also have asthma, so i have a first hand experience with it.... Asthma is a respiratory disorder marked by breathing difficulty caused by temporary narrowing of the bronchi, the airways branching from the trachea to the lungs. Susceptibility to an asthma attack is based on hyperactivity of the bronchial muscles, which constrict on exposure to one or another of these agents.... Asthma / grant 1 asthma in a fitness/school setting for some, the agony of asthma may be an affliction only during childhood; for others, the illness persists throughout adulthood. Asthma is a condition of the bronchial tubes characterized by episodes of constriction and increased mucous production. A person with asthma has bronchial tubes that are super sensitive to various stimuli, or triggers, that can produce asthma other words, asthmatics have special sensitivity that causes their lung tissue to react far more than is should to various stimulating factors or triggers. Some symptoms that people with asthma commonly experience are chest tightenings, difficulty inhaling and exhaling, wheezing, production of large amounts of mucous in their windpipes and ng can... Asthma is a disorder of the respiratory system in which the passages that enable air to pass into and out of the lungs periodically narrow, causing coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. This narrowing is typically temporary and reversible, but in severe attacks, asthma may result in death. Asthma most commonly refers to bronchial asthma, an inflammation of the airways, but the term is also used to refer to cardiac asthma, which develops when fluid builds up in the lungs as a complication of heart failure.... Wheezing sounds is caused but a high pitched vibration as the steam of air passes through constricted airways-this symptom makes asthma a noticeable symptom. Coughing=just like the wheezing sound, the symptom of coughing make asthma visible to other people.
In asthma, the cough can be a result of excessive secretion or the spasms of the muscles surrounding the airways. Mucus production=phlegm, spit, mucus, junk-call it what you want, most asthmatics have more that their share of this stuff. It can make sleeping, swallowing, talking and simply breathing ing to the book, taking charge of asthma, there are four main warning signs to decided if you may have asthma. If music plugs are blocking your airways, you will wheeze and you may have you experience 3 of these 4 symptoms, you are probably suffering from asthma or some other lung national heart, lungs, blood institute published an article stating that, a person is more likely to develop asthma if they have an inherited predisposition to the condition and are sensitive to allergens. In fact, the inflammation that causes asthma make your airways overly sensitive to many environmental triggers. In most cases, asthma can result from a combination of allergic and no allergic responses. For adults with asthma, exposure to an irritant such as cigarette smoke, cold air, and even stress can make the asthma is important to remember that there is no cure for asthma, although asthma can’t be cured it can be controlled. Preventives are used for long-term control of the disease and work to make asthma attacks less frequent and less severe. Quick relievers medicines offer short-term relief of symptom when asthma episodes main treatment to lessening the effects of asthma is the use of inhalers. They enable people with asthma to deliver medicine directly to their lungs almost anytime , anyplace. This is the most common type of treatment that is search returned over 400 essays for "asthma". You may also sort these by color is of a drug that was used for research in asthma. Since the drug, hexamethonium, was not fda approved for the research in asthma, it should have never been approved as an experiment in the first place (suber, 2001). The internal review board should have done more research on the experiment and recognized that the drug had not been tested in humans without asthma before implementation into humans with asthma. In response to the death of the student, the office for human research protections put a halt on all human-based research at johns hopkins university.... These functions are sometimes disrupted by disorders of the respiratory system, one of which is asthma. Asthma is characterized by chronic coughing, wheezing, tightness of the chest, and shortness of breath, but some people may not experience these symptoms. Asthma is diagnosed with a physical exam, a lung function test called spirometry, chest x-rays, an allergy test, and a bronchoprovocation test to measure sensitivity to various common triggers (“what is asthma? Asthma is one of the more common conditions that americans suffer from, more then 17 million are suffering from asthma one third of these are children (girish sharma, 2011) asthma is effects a persons ability to breath, due to coming in contact with asthma triggers.... Children aged from 0-17 years old have a greater chance of having asthma than adults do. One of the most surprising finds though is the fact that income affects the chances of having asthma.... Airflow obstruction results from twitchiness of the muscles in the airways and inflammation resulting in swelling of the airway walls as well as accumulation of secretions (asthma uk, 2014) over time symptoms might vary. In young children symptoms in the severity asthma triggers and response to medications does not affect individuals in the same ways. Care management of adolescents with asthma care management of adolescents with asthma asthma is a chronic condition associated with inflammation, constriction and swelling of the airways, and increased mucus secretion making if difficult to breath (kaufman, 2012). In the united stated, approximately 7 million children had asthma in 2010 (centers for disease control [cdc], 2012a). Living with asthma requires significant participation by the patient with self-care and management of their chronic illness. The focus of this research is to educate and promote health in patients with asthma, with nursing interventions. Education is vital for a patient with asthma and involves a collaborative partnership between the nurse and the patient. Because of the chronic nature of asthma, nurses have a vital role in educating patients on how to recognize when asthma is worsening, and when to respond appropriately to improve their outcome.... Asthma is caused by increased infiltration of inflammatory cells into the airway, constriction, airway smooth-muscle hypertrophy, and mucous hypersecretion in the bronchiolar walls of the lung (bijanzadeh, mahesh, nallur 1). Most asthma attacks are short, a few minutes to a few hours, and the person recovers completely this is called episodic asthma disease.... The world health organisation (who)(2013) describes asthma as a major noncommunicable disease characterised by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, which vary in severity and frequency from person to person introduction information gained from david, 30, determines he has had a confirmed diagnosis of asthma since childhood and over the past 2 weeks he has been having frequent respiratory symptoms and is using his reliever inhaler most days. The purpose of this assignment is to accurately establish possible reasons why david is having an exacerbation of his asthma and what can be done to control his current symptoms and manage his asthma longer term.... Asthma is a major health concern for nursing because most asthma-related deaths occur in lower-middle income countries. The percentile of adults that have been diagnosed with asthma by a health professional in greenpoint is 8. But in other communities in queens that are nearby like astoria (uhf 401) and west queens (uhf 402) less people get diagnosed with asthma....
According to webmd (2014), “asthma is a chronic disease of the airways that makes breathing difficult. With asthma, there is inflammation of the air passages that results in a temporary narrowing of the airways that carry oxygen to the lungs” (webmd, 2014, para. Asthma manifestation the signs and symptoms of asthma ranges from wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, fatigue with breathing and use of accessory muscles. The sputum of asthmatics may contain creola bodies (epithelial cell clusters), charcot-leiden crysals (eosinophils), and curschmann’s spirals. Introduction asthma is considered as one of the most common chronic and complex respiratory conditions which involve both environmental and genetic factors (1,2). Asthma has been part of the world for many of years and anyone can have asthma. Asthma is a chronic disorder of airways categorized physiologically as a reversible airflow obstruction, and pathologically with bronchoconstriction, the narrowing of the airways in the lungs due to the constriction of the surrounding smooth muscle. Asthma affects children and adolescent worldwide, caused by environmental, host, genetic factors and a variety of potential triggers. Automobile emissions, co and asthma auto emissions are byproducts from the engine combustion process and from the vanishing of fuel. Environmental protection agency has established air quality standards to protect our health asthma is an illness that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and... Asthma is a condition where the patient’s airways are narrow and swell to produce extra mucus. For certain people asthma is a minor thing but for other people it can be major and a life-threatening situation. Asthma can be cured and controlled; because asthma is a changing disease make sure the patient works with the doctor so he/she can keep their asthma under control. Introduction asthma is a persistent airway inflammatory disease; a condition that brings about persistent inflammation, remodeling and hyperresponsiveness in airways (ahr) (royce et al. 2009) further indicates that common environmental allergens like pollen and ovalbumin leads to production of ige antibody which is also believed to cause asthma, thus putting it in allergic disorders’ category.... Asthma is considered as one of the most common chronic and complex respiratory conditions which involve both environmental and genetic factors (2). Asthma, one of the most common lung diseases, affects 300 million individuals around the world today. Global initiative for asthma, 2012) however, what exactly is this ailment, which affects so many people. 584) while normal functionality of the lungs carries oxygen through these passageways, during an asthma attack, the bronchioles become inflamed and constrict the flow of oxygen.... Asthma is one of many conditions that can affect the pressure gradient in the lungs and cause problems with breathing.... Asthma is a lung disease that affects approximately ten million people in the united states. Cramer 2) in people with asthma, the airways of the lungs are hypersensitive to irritants such as cigarette smoke or allergens. Some people with asthma have only mild, intermittent symptoms that can be controlled without drugs. Although researchers have learned more about the underlying causes of asthma in recent years, a definitive treatment is still unavailable.... Relevance of the practice of respiratory therapy: i have long been aware of the illness called asthma. It’s usually the children who contacted asthma and therefore it’s called pediatric asthma. A cure for asthma while the reality of a cure for asthma is a long ways off, the idea keeps many asthmatics hopeful and healthy. Asthmatics should realize both of these statements are true and keep their feet planted firmly on the ground while dreaming of the possibilities. The word asthma, in its original greek form (ἅσθμα, or ásthma) (akin to aázein) means “panting” or “to breath hard”. Asthma is fairly common, and can be described as chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction and bronchospasm” (nhlbi, 2007). Asthma pathophysiology asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness in children and is responsible for nearly 10% of the emergency room visits for children <15 year of age. Asthma can begin at any age , but most children have their first symptoms by age five. Because camp wapiti is for children ages 8-13 exclusively, this report will focus primarily on childhood asthma. Asthma itself is an inflammatory disease characterized by increased airway responsiveness due to a variety of stimulus.... Obesity and asthma obesity is associated with several well-known health hazards, including diabetes and heart diseases. Furthermore, evidence from recent year suggest that obesity is a risk factor for asthma, which means there is a relationship between them.
Many studies show that obesity is a risk factor for asthma, and it has a positive correlation between increase in body mass index bmi and the development of asthma. Although, there are several treatments and handy home remedies to cure it, one must take the basic precautions to prevent asthma during pregnancy. Although there is no doubt that severe asthma attack can be harmful for your pregnancy, it can however be resolved with proper treatment.... Asthma is a disease of the lung that is usually either inherited or it may develop as a severe allergic reaction to a variety of causes. Not everyone who has allergies develops asthma though and not everyone who has asthma has allergies. The term exercise induced asthma has been around for quite some time and has been described with symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, tight feeling in the chest and fatigue.... A bout of breathing difficulty in people gasping to breathe is a painful sight among asthmatics. Asthma is an allergic condition of the upper respiratory tract consisting of lungs and connecting airways.... The most effective treatment for an asthma exacerbation ensuring the best treatment course for our patients with asthma is vital, and sometimes this involves research to determine the best course of treatment. According to doan, shefrin, and johnson (2011), asthma is one of the top reasons children come to the emergency room.... Kumar and robbins give an accurate definition of asthma as “a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and cough, particularly at night and/or early in the morning” (489). Asthma is a terrifying disease, especially in children, because of the sudden attacks that could claim lives if not treated immediately and effectively. Despite recent advancements in available drugs and overall therapy, the incidence of childhood asthma is rising (dolovich 373).... Living with asthma missing works cited the weather in boston is just beginning to feel cooler as maeve vaillancourt, a northeastern university sophomore rushes to her first class of the day. Today asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease, with the number of children with asthma increasing every year. Million children under 18 in the united states currently suffer from asthma, according to the american lung association. Characteristics and treatments for asthma asthma is very common, but it isn’t well understood. In the future, hopefully advances in medical research will lead to even better treatments then the ones we currently have. Scientists have studied the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in regards to many health defects in humans, one of them being asthma. In the united states alone, asthma is considered to be the most common long-term disease that affects particularly and most frequently children (al-daghri et al.... Normal breathing is practically effortless for most people, but those with asthma face a great challenge. During an asthma attack, breathing is hampered, making it difficult or even impossible for air to flow through the lungs. Asthma is an increasingly common problem, and has become the most common chronic childhood disease. In a report released on wednesday, scientists have found out that dust mites from your house et may cause asthma in children who do not yet have the disease. Million americans have asthma, a respiratory disease that causes suffering, horrible coughing, and wheezing and also leaves them gasping for air. According to barnett and nurmagambetov, from the time period of 2002-2007, 886 children under the age of 15 died due to asthma. 145-152) child-onset asthma may not be the greatest killer of children to plaque this planet but it is a real and terrifying experience for both children and their parents. Mothers and fathers can fight against this illness but they need to know how to deal with asthma and what to do when an attack happens can help prevent these deaths from happening.... The constriction of the airway gives rise to common asthmatic symptoms of wheezing, coughing, tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath.... Although hypersensitivity to fruits and vegetables is assumed to play a role in the etiology of asthma and deteriorating of symptoms in some asthmatic patients, however, little is known about allergy to some fruits and vegetables in patients aforementioned. The purpose of this study was to identify probable sensitization to eggplant, shiraz grape, melon and mango among asthma sufferers. The study included 50 patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma and 50 healthy individuals with no history of asthma and other atopic diseases.... According to a study in 2005, asthma affects over 15 million americans, with more than 2 million annual emergency room visits. Asthma patients have a hyper-responsiveness in their airways and generally and increase in their airway smooth muscle cell mass. This paper will discuss the effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ets) or known as second hand smoke (shm) among children. One of the health effects can be asthma, which is provoked by their parents who smoke in their vicinity.
Overcoming my asthma and completing a marathon it all started when i was first born, “ mr. Asthma is a long-term, otherwise known as a chronic disease, which occurs in the respiratory system. Most of the population that is diagnosed with asthma finds some way to be able to control the asthmatic symptoms with treatment.... Explaining asthma asthma is a disease of the lungs and of the air tubes leading to them. Asthma causes the walls of the bronchioles (the tiny airways in the lungs) to swell and produce mucus so that it becomes difficult to breathe. No one is sure what causes asthma, but the bronchioles of many people who have asthma are more sensitive than usual to certain triggers.... Exploring asthma asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements play a role, in particular, mast cells, eosinophils, t lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils and epithelial cells. Exercise induced asthma "asthma is a pulmonary disease with the following characteristics: 1) airway obstruction that is reversible in most patients either spontaneously or with treatment; 2) airway inflammation; and 3) increased airway responsiveness to a variety of stimuli" (enright, 1996, p. There presently exist many varieties of asthma that differ in the severity, means of induction, and methods of treatment. Exercise-induced asthma (eia) is a temporary increase in airway resistance and acute narrowing of the airway that occurs after several minutes of strenuous exercise, usually after the exercise had ceased" (spector, 1993, p.... Relationships between asthma and air pollution professor’s comment: this student’s research paper synthesizes the results of a well-selected group of articles that explore relationships between asthma and air pollution. In drawing from the articles she reviews and in organizing her paper, the student maintains a good balance between discussing air-borne pollutants themselves and their physical effects, between analysis and implication.... Report – asthma –how anti-inflammatory corticosteroids act joe presented to a general practitioner detailing symptoms consistent with asthma. From the various studies carried out on dietary induced weight loss on asthmatic obese and overweight children, the outcomes reveal that a dietary intervention is able to stimulate acute loss of weight in asthmatic children within duration of just 10 weeks. Notably, heightened dietary-stimulated weight loss is coupled with a considerable progress in asthma control, static lung function, and self reported quality of life in this faction of children. Introduction asthma is chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by recurring episodes of wheeling and breathlessness. In fact, asthma is complicated syndromes that have neither single definition nor complete explanation to the point. In light of its treatment, it is worthwhile to notice that asthma cannot be cured, instead can be only managed by avoiding exposure to allergens and/or by using medications regularly.... Salmeterol: the optimization of an asthmatic drug abstract: asthma can be found in so many people all across world. Introduction in this paper i will examine the different aspects of a new treatment for asthma, known as the bronchial thermoplasty. This paper identifies how this treatment works, and the benefits as well as negative effects surrounding this new treatment. Introduction to asthma asthma is a chronic, respiratory disease which makes it difficult to breathe. Cigarette smoke: research has shown that another factor affecting child health in low-income families is cigarette smoke. The invisible epidemic the rise of asthma in urban communities is beginning to reach epic proportions. The drastic rise in asthma and related pulmonary illnesses is surprising because benchmark studies have resulted in an as yet unknown understanding of the disease. The centers for disease control in atlanta report that in 1993, 159,000 children under the age of fifteen were hospitalized for acute asthma, and 5,300 people died. The value of reduced productivity due to loss of school days represented the largest single indirect cost related to asthma, approaching $1 billion. Our free enter the title keyword:Abstractasthma affects a significant proportion of elderly patients, but unfortunately, it is responsible for a high asthma-related morbidity and mortality in this population. This may be related not only to the development of a more severe asthma phenotype compared to younger patients, with more marked airway obstruction and a more neutrophilic type of airway inflammation, but also to the presence of many co-morbid conditions. Unfortunately, elderly patients have usually been excluded of clinical trials on asthma and there is an urgent need to perform more research on the optimal management of asthma in this dsasthmaelderlyasthma controlasthma treatmentaging. One month later, his fev1 was 96 % case of asthma in an elderly patient, probably exacerbated by a viral respiratory infection illustrates common management problems in these patients such as confusion with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) and poor patient report of chronic troublesome symptoms, often attributed to aging. Prevalence of asthma in the elderly has been reported to be equal or even higher than in the general asthmatic population [5, 6]. As an example, the lifetime and current prevalence of asthma in patients over 65 years old was 10. Furthermore, they have a higher morbidity and rate of hospital admission for asthma than younger patients [6, 8–12]. This has been attributed to a frequent under- or mis-diagnosis, poor assessment and under-treatment of asthma in this group, but also related to many patients-related care gaps in the management of asthma in this population [6, 12–16]. Furthermore, many elderly asthmatic patients consider that their respiratory symptoms are normal, associated with aging and they often delay their consultation to a physician or to the ed, in addition to have many fears and misconceptions about their treatment [6, 17].
Characteristics of asthma in the iologicalincreased morbidity and mortalityless frequent atopyclinicalunderdiagnosed and undertreatedasthma control more difficult to achievereduced perception of symptomsdifficulties to perform pulmonary function testsnumerous co-morbiditiespathophysiologymixed (more neutrophilic airway inflammation)more severe airway obstructionloss of lung elastic recoil – reduced respiratory muscles strength- small airways involvementsystemic inflammation and immunosenescencemanagement problemsinsufficient understanding of the diseasememory impairment, hearing loss, poor sightpsycho-socio-economic problemstherapypoor adhesion to therapy and follow-uppoor inhaler technique (arthritis, understanding…)polypharmacy and increased risk of interactionsgeneralpoor nutrition, sedentarity, weight gainreduced access to aging affects asthma elderly seems to suffer from a more severe phenotype of asthma, more resistant to the treatment, and with poorer outcomes. This remains however to be more adequately documented, as it can possibly change our approach to asthma management in this population. Since senescent cells have impaired replicative capacity, with time, this induces premature apoptosis or alters cell factors may play a role in making asthma worse in the elderly. In this regard, although incidence of obesity and metabolic syndrome was not higher in postmenopausal asthma patients than controls, aydin et al. We previously showed that airway obstruction was more marked in elderly asthmatics compared with healthy elderly or younger asthmatic subjects [20]. This may be due to the addition of a progressive “physiological” airway obstruction to the changes associated to asthma. Furthermore, the possibility of an increased prevalence of airway hyperresponsiveness (ahr) in the elderly asthmatic compared to younger subjects has been suggested although determinants of such increase in airway response may differ from younger patients [21, 22]. The elderly, asthma is more neutrophilic than in younger asthmatic patients, whatever the severity of asthma [20, 23]. Two main sub-phenotypes have been described in regard to asthma in the elderly according to the onset of symptoms [9]. Early-onset’, starting in childhood or early adulthood, and ‘late-onset’, starting after 40 years old, this last being associated with a faster lung function decline, less reversible airway obstruction and more severe asthma. Is under-diagnosed in the aged patient as symptoms, are often underreported or misinterpreted, and asthma is often confounded with other diseases such as copd and heart failure [5, 6]. Although very old or physically impaired patients may have difficulties to perform lung function tests, those are much useful to assess properly their asthmatic condition. So, additional findings such as a significant improvement in fev1 after bronchodilator (12 % and at least 200 ml) may support a diagnosis of asthma. The most important seems to be a reduced lung function and a history of smoking, while atopy is an independent number of co-morbidities associated with asthma increases with age and some of those conditions, or the medications required to treat these last, can sometimes affect asthma control [33]. Asthma drugs, particularly oral corticosteroids, may also affect concomitant conditions such as osteoporosis, cataracts and only could elderly asthmatics who smoke or have a past history of smoking have a change in their asthma phenotype, being more severe and more neutrophilic, but they may have developed the asthma-copd overlap syndrome (acos) [1, 36]. More than one-third of elderly asthmatic patients, despite receiving gina step 3–4 antiasthmatic therapy, had an asthma control test score ≤19, a quarter experiencing at least one severe asthma exacerbation in the previous year [37]. One third of patients were classified as having acos due to the presence of chronic bronchitis and/or co lung diffusion impairment and this group had poor asthma outcomes. Also showed that subjects with acos had an earlier age of asthma onset and the highest hospitalisation rate [38]. These observations may explain the global poorer outcome in elderly but other factors could also play a ent of asthma in the in the elderly is commonly under-assessed and treatment is often not in keeping with current guidelines [12, 39–43]. The elderly patient may have concerns about the side-effects of the medication, poor inhaler technique or insufficient inspiratory flows, and asthma management can be affected by memory impairment or economic difficulties [6, 12]. It is also possible that the elderly asthmatic is more resistant to therapy either due to a change in asthma inflammatory phenotype or airway functional changes. This remains to be further elderly patients were usually excluded from randomized clinical trials on new treatments, there are few data on the optimal management of asthma in this population. It is therefore recommended to use the same guidelines as for the general population, hoping that further research will guide future recommendations [1, 6]. Weight loss, in the presence of obesity, may markedly improve asthma but is often difficult to achieve [39]. It has been demonstrated that with a more aggressive treatment and regular medical review, acute health care use could be reduced and quality of life improved in the elderly asthmatic patient [46]. Beta-blockers, mainly nonselective forms, are commonly used in elderly patients and may result in worsening asthma symptoms. They are usually well tolerated but if they cause tremor or tachycardia, the dose should be reduced while maintenance therapy revised to minimize their in younger patients, inhaled corticosteroids (ics) are the mainstay of asthma treatment in the elderly, although they are insufficiently used in this population [1, 40]. If insufficient to control asthma, we should first check inhaler technique, adherence, environmental factors, smoking status and co-morbid conditions. Laba should never be prescribed as monotherapy in asthma while they often are in copd [1, 48]. Furthermore, budesonide/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy has been shown to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment in elderly as in younger asthmatic patients [49]. Anti-cholinergic agents such as tiotropium have interesting properties for the elderly patients as response to this type of agents is well preserved with age particularly when asthma is severe or in the presence of side-effects of laba [50]. Antibodies such as omalizumab may be useful in severely asthmatic atopic patients whatever the age [51]. Theophylline is now rarely used, but if so, due to its potential for side-effects and risk of drug interactions, particularly in the aged patient, with frequent heart conditions and poly-pharmacy, its effects should be carefully asthma tends to be more severe and is associated with a high morbidity and increased mortality in the elderly patient, its treatment should be carefully selected and its effects checked regularly. Reduced response to therapy and resistance to corticosteroids in the elderly may be another barrier to good control and adherence to therapy; this may result from a change in asthma phenotype but it remains to be better documented (table 2). Long-standing asthma• determine what is the optimal management of asthma• how educate the elderly and develop an effective multidisciplinary approach• should drug therapy be better targeted to this population. A change in asthma phenotype in the elderly and the many deficiencies observed in the management of this population may explain the poor outcomes observed.
These care-gaps should be considered and more research performed on the optimal management of asthma in the aging -messages for the clinician. Asthma in the elderly should be distinguished from other conditions such as copd and heart conditions. Careful assessment of asthma control and barriers to achievement of such control - particularly adherence to therapy, poor inhaler techniques, influence of co-morbidities and other management deficiencies - should be addressed. As we have few data on the optimal management of asthma in this population, current general guidelines should be used. A multi-disciplinary approach should be ensured to look at the various global aspects of elderly asthmatic ledgementsi’m grateful to sylvie carette for her help with the preparation of the fit grants: research funding provided to my center for participating in multicenter studies: these have mostly been performed in the context of the canadian network of centres of excellence “allergen” projects: altair, amgen, asmacure, astrazeneca, boehringer-ingelheim, boston scientific, genentech, glaxosmithkline, novartis, ono pharma, schering, wyeth, support for investigator generated studies: takeda, merck, boehringer-ingelheim. Research and use cookies to improve your experience with our information about our cookie policy.