pediatric asthma

Question 1

etiology

Answer 1

smaller airways have less room for edema and inflammation. chronic inflammation can lead to airway remodeling, can lead to loss of pulmonary function

Question 2

epidemiology

Answer 2

asthma 3rd leading cause of hospitlization in children uder age 15.

Question 3

signs and symptoms

Answer 3

coughing: persistent, worse at night, awakened by cough, or after activity. short of breath at rest or with minimal exertion, chest tightness, colds that last more than 10 days.

Question 4

physical exam

Answer 4

wheezing during normal breathing, prolonged expiratory phase, associate atopic dermatitis or eczema, as the patient gets worse, the chest becomes silent and RR decreases

Question 5

treatment

Answer 5

education of the patient, parents, caregivers

• environmental control measures
• regular assessment and monitoring
• pharm therapy

Question 6

prognosis/prevention

Answer 6

asthma predictive index guide to determine which small children will likely have asthma in later years. children younger than 3 who have had 4 or more significant wheezing episodes in the past year are much more likely to have persistent asthma after 5 years if they have 1 major decisive factor or 2 minor.

Question 7

major decisive factor

Answer 7

parent with asthma, physician diagnosis of eczema, positive skin tests or blood tests to allergens

Question 8

minor decisive factors

Answer 8

food allergies, wheezing apart from colds, greater than 4% blood eosinophils

Question 9

prevention tips

Answer 9

know childs asthma triggers, if you have pets, dont allow in bedroom of child, reduce access to environmental trigers, have a copy of AAP at school as well as PFR and medications