Asthma Flashcards
What is the clinical syndrome of asthma defined by?
- Increased responsiveness of the trachea and bronchi to various stimuli
- Resulting in reversible narrowing of airways that is relieved either spontaneously or with treatment
What is always present with asthma?
- Wheeze
What type of sensitivity results in asthma?
- Type 1 hypersensitivity
What can wheeze commonly be confused with?
- Rattle
- Stertor
- Stridor
What can asthma commonly be misdiagnosed for?
- Bronchitis
What ways can asthma be reversed?
- Bronchodilators
- Corticosteroids
How can asthma vary daily?
- Worse at night and in the morning
How can asthma vary weekly?
- At work in week
- Better at weekends
How can asthma vary annually?
- Environmental allergens
What are the goals of treatment following a finalised asthma diagnosis?
- Minimalise symptoms
- Minimalise medicaton
- No exacerbations
- No limitations on physical activity
- Normal lung function
What are the clinical symptoms of asthma?
- Wheeze
- Dyspnoea
- Chest tightness
- Cough (dry - usually only in paediatric asthma)
- Sputum (occasionally)
- VARIABILITY
What are the clinical signs of asthma?
- Breathlessnes on exertion
- Hyperexpanded chest
- Wheezes
What other clinical symptoms and signs would mean it wasn’t asthma?
- Clubbing
- Cervical lymphadenopathy
- Stridor
- Asymmetrical expansion
- Dull percussion notes
- Crepitations (crackles)
What conditions would be more likely on a dull percussion note?
- Lobar collapse
- Pleural effusion
What conditions would be more likely with crepitations?
- Bronchitis
- CF
- Alveolitis
- LVF
What are the risk factors for asthma?
- Genetic
- Occupation
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Diet
- Microbe exposure
- Chemical products
- Environmental exposure
- Inherently abnormal lungs
What genetic factors can increase asthma risk?
- Atopy (inherited tendency for IgE response to allergens
What occupational risk factors are there
- Simply means what people work with
- People working with animals, grains, enzymes etc may be more susceptible
How can smoking increase risk of asthma?
- Grandmother effect
- Mother smoking during pregnancy
How can obesity increase risk of asthma?
- BMI linked to asthma
- Obesity increases inflammatory response
How can diet increase asthma risk?
- Lack of certain vitamins
- Anti-O’s
- Fruit
How can exposure to microbes affect asthma risk?
- Young exposure to certain microbes reduces risk
- Farm children far less likely to develop asthma
What environmental antigens are there that can influence risk?
- Dust mites (actually reduce risk)
- Cats
- Grass pollen
What things can exacerbate asthma?
- Exercise
- Cold air
- Smoke
- Perfume
- URTI’s
- Pets
- Grass pollen
