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After I’d written to you yesterday I had an attack of asthma and an incessantly running nose, which forced me to tramp about, lighting cigarettes at every tobacconist etc. And worse was to come: I went to bed about midnight, feeling all right after spending a long time inhaling smoke, but 3 or 4 hours later came the real attack of the summer.
MARCEL PROUST, LETTER TO HIS MOTHER, 1901
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Asthma, which is an inflammatory disorder, is defined by the presence of both of the following:1
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excessive variation in lung function (‘variable airflow limitation’, i.e. variation in expiratory airflow that is greater than that seen in healthy people)
respiratory symptoms (e.g. wheeze, shortness of breath, cough, chest tightness) that vary over time and may be present or absent at any point in time
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In young children in whom lung function testing is not feasible, including most preschool children, asthma is defined by the presence of variable respiratory symptoms.
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Key facts and checkpoints
Asthma continues to be underdiagnosed and undertreated.2 It is increasing worldwide.
It has an unacceptable mortality rate: 455 deaths in Australia in 2016 (1.9 per 100 000).3
One child in nine (age 0–14 years) reports having asthma (usually in a mild form).4
It tends to develop between the ages of 2 and 7 years, but can develop at any age.
Most children present with a cough.
Most children are free from it by puberty.
About one adult in eight has or has had asthma.
The focus of management should be on prevention; an acute asthmatic attack represents failed treatment.
Measurement of function is vital as ‘objective measurement is superior to subjective measurement’.
Spirometry is the key investigation.
Inhaled corticosteroids are the cornerstone of asthma treatment.
Medicines should be prescribed at the lowest strength that works. Patients should not be left on combination or high-dose inhalers without regular review.
Avoid concomitant medication that may exacerbate asthma (e.g. beta blockers, aspirin, NSAIDs).
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Chronic asthma is an inflammatory disease with the following pathological characteristics:
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infiltration of the mucosa with inflammatory cells (especially eosinophils) and cellular elements
airway hyper-responsiveness5
intermittent airway narrowing (due to bronchoconstriction, congestion or oedema of bronchial mucosa or a combination of these) (see FIG. 82.1)
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No single cause for asthma has been found, but a variety of factors may trigger an attack. These include specific factors such as viruses, allergens and non-specific factors such as temperature or weather changes and exercise. A checklist of trigger factors includes:
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allergens—pollens, animal dander, dust ...