ASTHMA

SUMMARY

1. Asthma is an inflammatory condition of the airways characterised by recurrent episodes of cough, dyspnea and wheezing due to reversible bronchoconstriction.
2. The symptoms are due to bronchoconstriction, airway wall thickening & increased mucus secretion.

3. Patients can have intermittent, persistent, acute or chronic manifestations.

4. Asthmatics have recurrent episodes of dyspnea, cough, wheezing and chest tightness.

5. On initial presentation, the patient may have complaints only of a chronic cough irrespective of supine or standing.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].