Asthma - Children Flashcards
What are the challenges with asthma?
No clear definition
No tests
Two national guidelines
Symptom based
Identical to LRTI symptoms
Relapse and remission
In children, No asthma no..
wheeze
What is asthma?
Chronic
Wheeze, cough and shortness of breath
Multiple triggers
Variable
Reversible
Responds to asthma treatment
What 4 things do we know that about causing asthma?
Host response to environment
Infection is important
Physiology is abnormal before symptoms
Is a syndrome
What are some inconsistencies?
Transient vs persistent syndromes
VIW versus asthma
Different severities, age of onset and triggers
Heterogeneity in response
Describe genes and asthma in children
Genes contribute to 30-80% of causation
10 variants that can make contribution
Genes can include ADAM33 and ORMDL3 but people can have these and not have asthma
These genes interact with the environment
Epigenetics can be the reason for this
Explain allergy and asthma
Allergy probably does not cause asthma but a primary epithelial abnormality in skin/gut/airway can result in -eczema/asthma etc. and allergy.
The allergy then fuels eczema/asthma etc.
Give stats of asthma in children in UK
1.1 million UK children
110,000 in Scotland
5% of children on inhaled steroids
Asthma prevalence is on the decline from 2004
What is likely for the rise and fall of asthma?
Diagnostic enthusiasm
Increasing recognition
True rise
What is the age of lungs having 100% FEV1?
25 years
What diagnostics tests are used in asthma?
No tests in children for asthma - peak flow, allergy tests, spirometry and exhaled nitric oxide
Can help exclude diseases
What is a exhaled nitric oxide test?
Is unproven to diagnose asthma in children
It measures the amount of nitric oxide that is exhaled from a breath. Increased levels of nitric oxide are associated with swelling of lung airways
What 4 tests are used to exclude other diseases to give diagnosis of asthma?
1.spirometry
2. BDR
3.FeNO
4.Peak flow
Does a cough variant asthma exist in children?
No
What type of wheeze is associated with asthma in children
Whistle not a rattle
Explain what shortness of breath at rest is like in asthma?
Significant respiratory difficulty <30% lung function
Airway obstruction
Can be sooking in of the ribs with wheeze - stomach sticks out of ribs
Describe what a cough is like in a child with asthma
Dry
Nocturnal - just after falling asleep
Exertional
What personal history can be circumstantial evidence of asthma?
Eczema, Hay fever, Food allergies
Any allergies are circumstantial evidence
Hereditary
What does treatment for asthma look like in children?
ICS for 2 months
Then false positive responses need to be checked so a holiday in Easter is taken from treatment
Does asthma symptoms respond to treatment?
yes
What would give an ideal diagnosis
Responds to treatment
What are some disadvantages of asthma treatment?
Cost
Hassle
0.5-1cm loss in height
Oral thrush if teeth not brushed after inhaler use