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Asthma - Management
What assessment is needed in for someone with suspected asthma?
- Assess the person for features that increase or decrease the probability of asthma. For more information, see:
- Ask about the frequency and pattern of symptoms. For example, do symptoms occur every day, and are there nocturnal symptoms?
- Exclude other diagnoses, such as chest infection or pneumothorax.
- Exclude co-existing conditions, such as gastro-oesophageal reflux disease or allergic rhinitis.
- Ask people to keep a record of when their asthma symptoms are worse, to try to identify trigger factors, such as smoking, drugs, allergens, exercise, or occupation.
- Assess the impact of asthma on activities of daily living, such as work or school, exercise, sleep, and psychological well-being.
Basis for recommendation
- These recommendations are based on the British Guideline on the Management of Asthma: a national clinical guideline [SIGN and BTS, 2009].
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