Asthma and Stepwise Management Essay
Asthma and Stepwise Management Essay
Asthma is a respiratory disorder that affects children and adults. Advanced practice nurses often provide treatment to patients with these disorders. Sometimes patients require immediate treatment making it essential that you recognize and distinguish minor asthma symptoms from serious, life-threatening symptoms. Since symptoms and attacks are often induced by a trigger, advanced practice nurses must also help patients identify their triggers and recommend appropriate management options. Like many other disorders, there are various approaches to treating and managing care for asthmatic patients depending on individual patient factors. One method that supports the clinical decision-making of drug therapy plans for asthmatic patients is the stepwise approach, which you explore in this Assignment. To prepare: Consider drugs used to treat asthmatic patients including long-term control and quick relief treatment options for patients. Think about the impact these drugs might have on patients including adults and children. Review Chapter 25 of the Arcangelo and Peterson text. Reflect on using the stepwise approach to asthma treatment and management. Consider how stepwise management assists health care providers and patients in gaining and maintaining control of the disease. By Day 7 Write a 2- to 3- page paper that addresses the following: Describe long-term control and quick relief treatment options for asthma patients, as well as the impact these drugs might have on patients. Explain the stepwise approach to asthma treatment and management. Explain how stepwise management assists health care providers and patients in gaining and maintaining control of the disease. PLEASE INCLUDE AN INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH. USE THE FOLLOWING REFERENCE AS 1 OF THE 5. Arcangelo, V. P., Peterson, A. M., Wilbur, V., & Reinhold, J. A. (Eds.). (2017). Pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice: A practical approach (4th ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Asthma and Stepwise Management Essay
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Introduction
Asthma is a medical condition that presents as breathing difficulties, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath duet to narrowed, swollen, inflamed and obstructed airways. Treating the condition would typically involve managing the symptoms. This means that the treatment strategies would regularly be reviewed and adjusted in response to how the symptoms present (Edlin & Golanty, 2015). The present paper discusses the intricacies of asthma management with emphasis on short-term and long-term care as well as stepwise management.
Long-term control and quick-relief treatment
Asthma management can either adopt long-term control or quick-relief treatment options. To be more concise, effective treatment for asthma are either presented as long-term control medicine or quick relief medicine. Quick-relief medication are typically used to offer immediate relief and are applied asthma symptoms first present. They are presented as bronchodilators and include anticholinergics and short-acting inhaled beta 2 agonists. The quick relief medication are considered bronchodilators since they expand the bronchi (air passageways in the lungs) to improve breathing by allowing greater quantities of air through (Edlin & Golanty, 2015). Other than clearing the passageways, they also clear mucus from the lungs to ease breathing. It is notable that quick-relief medication as only responsible for suppressing the symptoms reported for asthma but they do not have an effect on the inflammation that initially caused the symptoms. Quick relief medication are recommended for use not more than two times every week. Should their need exceed twice weekly, then long-term control medication would be prescribed to prevent asthma attacks and symptoms. They include immunomodulators, oral and inhaled corticosteroids, methylxanthines, long-acting inhaled beta 2 agonists, cromolyn sodium, and leukotriene modifiers or antileukotrines. It is notable that unlike quick relief medication that should not be used for more than twice weekly, long-term control medicine is used daily to not only suppress symptoms but also address the inflammation that initially caused the symptoms (Copstead-Kirkhorn & Banasik, 2014).
Stepwise approach
The stepwise management of asthma applies a grading system to determine the patients’ needs and most appropriate treatment/management approach. In this case, the grading system uses an impairment and risk domain to decide on the medical needs of each patient. Using the grading system, medical personnel can guarantee better control of the condition through deciding on the best medication type, dose, numbers, and how frequent the medication should be used. For that matter, stepwise control is intended to ensure long-term control of asthma, looking at how to manage the symptoms and the inflammation that caused the symptoms, as well as ensuring that the condition is not exacerbated (Gielen et al., 2015). The stepwise approach to cancer treatment identifies six grades that are presented in progression as the case worsens. The first grade uses short-acting inhaled beta-agonists. The second grade uses low dose inhaled corticosteroids. The third grade uses low dose inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting inhaled beta agonists. The fourth grade uses medium dose long-acting beta-agonists and inhaled corticosteroids. The fifth grade uses high dose long-acting beta agonists and inhaled corticosteroids. The sixth grade uses high dose long-acting beta-agonists, inhaled corticosteroids, and oral corticosteroids. Each step is reviewed every three months before deciding on whether or not to upgrade or downgrade care (Arcangelo et al., 2017).
How stepwise management
Stepwise management of asthma is important in the control of the condition through determining the specific medication requires, dosage to be administered and how often the medication should be administered to achieve the desired control. Through the grades presented in the stepwise control, patients can be speedily evaluated in terms of their care needs while also making allowances for when the condition changes in terms of whether the management should be upgraded as the condition worseness to use stronger medication or downgraded as the condition improves to use weaker medication (Arcangelo et al., 2017). Asthma and Stepwise Management Essay
Conclusion
One must accept that asthma is a medical condition presented as narrowed and swollen airways that produce mucus. In addition, one must acknowledge that asthma management occurs through symptoms control. The control occurs through inhaled corticosteroids, short-acting inhaled beta agonists, and long-acting inhaled beta-agonists whose administration occurs through stepwise management that matches severity, impairment and risk that determine dose, number of medication and administration frequency.
References
Arcangelo, V. P., Peterson, A. M., Wilbur, V. & Reinhold, J. A. (Eds.). (2017). Pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice: a practical approach (4th ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Copstead-Kirkhorn, L. & Banasik, J. (2014). Pathophysiology (5th ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Edlin, G. & Golanty, E. (2015). Health and wellness. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Gielen, S., Backer, G., Piepoli, M. & Wood, D. (2015). The esc textbook of preventive cardiology: clinical practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Asthma and Stepwise Management Essay
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