Fast Facts Asthma For Patients And Their Supporters

Asthma is a long-term condition that reduces the amount of air flowing in and out of the lungs. Whether your symptoms are mild, difficult-to-control or severe, it is important to be in control of your asthma. The information in this booklet is designed to help you and your family better understand the condition, what triggers it and how to treat it. It includes clear instructions for good inhaler technique and emphasizes the importance of having an Asthma Action Plan in place so that you know: • when and how often to take your treatment • how to tell if your symptoms are getting worse • what to do when your symptoms get worse. With simple clear illustrations, explanation of medical terms and space to write down the questions you want to ask your doctor or nurse, this resource will help you take control of your asthma. Contents: • What is asthma? • What causes asthma? • What are the symptoms of asthma? • What are the tests for asthma? • What medications are used to treat asthma? • Inhalers and spacers • Your Asthma Action Plan • How do I prevent an asthma attack? • How do I manage an asthma attack? • Difficult-to-control asthma • Severe asthma • Treatment of severe asthma • Exercise-induced asthma • Occupational asthma • Asthma in older people • Asthma in pregnancy • Asthma in children

Allergic rhinitis, rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma are some of the most common presenting problems in clinical practice. While standard pharmacotherapy can control the symptoms of these respiratory allergies in most cases, accurate and specific diagnosis enables the implementation of allergen avoidance and allergen-specific immunotherapy. 'Fast Facts: Respiratory Allergies' provides: • the basic principles of allergy and its role in these common respiratory conditions • a better understanding of the distribution and seasonality of aeroallergens • the tools to obtain a comprehensive respiratory allergy history • an overview of diagnostic tests and the latest treatment options. This handy, fast-reference resource is ideal for all primary care providers, general internal medicine doctors and allied health professionals looking to reduce their patients’ medication requirements and treatment side effects and ultimately improve their quality of life. Table of Contents: • Epidemiology, etiology and pathophysiology • Aeroallergens • Diagnosis • Management • Delivery of medication • Future directions

Severe asthma is a form of asthma that responds poorly to currently available medication, and its patients represent those with greatest unmet needs. In the last 10 years, substantial progress has been made in terms of understanding some of the mechanisms that drive severe asthma; there have also been concomitant advances in the recognition of specific molecular phenotypes. This ERS Monograph covers all aspects of severe asthma – epidemiology, diagnosis, mechanisms, treatment and management – but has a particular focus on recent understanding of mechanistic heterogeneity based on an analytic approach using various ‘omics platforms applied to clinically well-defined asthma cohorts. How these advances have led to improved management targets is also emphasised. This book brings together the clinical and scientific expertise of those from around the world who are collaborating to solve the problem of severe asthma.

'Fast Facts: Asthma' delivers a clear practical message – improved asthma control can be achieved through efficient commonsense delivery of asthma care, alongside strategies that improve patient self-management and medication use. This fully updated fourth edition examines the essentials of good asthma care, distilled from the latest international guidelines and best available evidence, including: • Accurate asthma diagnosis • Identification and control of factors that increase the risk of exacerbations • Effective delivery of inhaled medication • The recommended stepwise approach to asthma treatment • Questions to ask before diagnosing refractory asthma • Inflammation-guided therapy • Recognition and treatment of acute asthma attacks • Strategies to improve adherence to asthma treatment The easy-reference format of this concise, well-illustrated handbook is ideal for general practitioners, asthma nurses, medical students and asthma educators seeking a practical overview of good asthma care that will help with individualized management plans and patient education, and improve outcomes and quality of life for the very many people living with asthma. Contents: • Pathophysiology • Epidemiology and natural history • Diagnosis and classification • Management • Refractory asthma • Acute asthma attacks • Preventing asthma attacks • Exercise-induced asthma • Developments • Useful resources

Asthma is the world’s most common chronic respiratory condition, affecting over 350 million people worldwide and inflicting a heavy individual, social and economic burden of disease. In this rapidly changing field, a plethora of new inhaled therapies and devices have emerged, as well as a better understanding of disease phenotyping and biology. This fully updated fifth edition of 'Fast Facts: Asthma' discusses recent trends in an easy-reference format, while highlighting imminent new developments, to provide a valuable resource for general practitioners, specialist asthma nurses and others with a keen interest in improving the outcomes of the very many people living with asthma. Table of Contents: • Pathophysiology • Epidemiology, etiology and natural history • Diagnosis and classification • Asthma medications • Management principles • Severe and refractory asthma • Acute asthma attacks • Preventing asthma attacks • Asthma in special circumstances • Developments

“Provides a broad overview of informatics knowledge to empower nurses to be thoughtful and participate in the capture, storage, and use of data to create information and knowledge to optimize patient outcomes...In this book, you will gain an understanding of how clinical decision support tools work so you can provide feedback about [their] effectiveness and recommend additional ways decision support tools help.” —Bonnie L. Westra, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, FACMI, From the Foreword Understanding and managing technology is a key component in providing quality patient care today. This addition to the popular Fast Facts series provides RNs and nursing students with an accessible, concise, step-by-step introduction to the essentials of informatics and its impact on patient lives. This book delivers required competencies and frameworks for both nursing education and practice, expanding upon integral systems and technologies within our healthcare system and their impact on the responsibilities of the individual nurse. Highlighting the intricacies within a specialized approach to healthcare data, data mining, and data organization, this resource connects day-to-day informatics practices to larger initiatives and perspectives. Clear and concise synopses of healthcare essentials, case studies, and abundant practical examples help readers understand how health informatics improves patient care within the nursing scope of practice. Thought-provoking questions in each chapter facilitate in-depth considerations on chapter content. Key Features: Key information about the electronic health record, telehealth, wearables, and decision-support tools Practical examples demonstrate how informatics improves patient care within the nurse’s scope of practice Case studies with thought-provoking questions Nurses’ influence on data quality Relevant ethical, legal, and social issues The intersection of technology and informatics and the power of data