Running head: ASTHMA 1 Asthma and Stepwise Management Danielle Jones Walden University, NURS 6521 December 19, 2017

ASTHMA 2 Asthma and Stepwise Management Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways which affects approximately 8 percent of adults and children in the United States and is responsible for 6.3% of office visits and 2 million emergency room visits each year (CDC, 2017). Advanced practice nurses need to be able to recognize and treat acute asthma exacerbations as well as to manage chronic asthma and prevent flare-ups. The purpose of this paper is to understand treatment options for asthma patients and their impacts, as well as to explain the stepwise approach to asthma management. Treatment Options for Asthma Patients and Their Impact on Patients Long Term Controller Medicines Along with limiting exposure to environmental triggers, medical therapy is the most effective intervention to control asthma. (Postma, Karr, & Kieckhefer, 2009). Most of the long term controller medicines work to inhibit different parts of the inflammatory pathway to inhibit immune response and therefore to limit bronchospasm in the respiratory tract. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are believed to be the single most effective therapy for the treatment of asthma and should always be prescribed using the lowest dose necessary to control symptoms. (Arcangelo, Peterson, Wilbur, & Reinhold, 2017). Side effects of ICSs are generally minimal, including the potential for oropharyngeal candidiasis, and in higher doses, stunted linear growth.