Up-To-Date on Asthma in Adults: The Current Guidelines

Nearly 26 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma, a disease marked by variable and recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction, bronchial hyper-responsiveness, and underlying inflammation. Inflammation of the airways and airway hyper-responsiveness are the hallmark pathophysiological features of asthma, resulting in the typical symptoms: coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and breathlessness. The goal of asthma pharmacotherapy is to relieve or minimize symptoms by targeting the underlying pathophysiological processes. Because of the high prevalence of asthma, all clinicians must be up to date on the current guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of this chronic illness. This course will summarize the key guideline changes, with a focus on adults.