Management of Asthmatic Patient at a Community Clinic

Management of Asthmatic Patient
at a Community Clinic
Presented by:

Introduction
 Asthma - leading chronic respiratory illness
– 235 million people being diagnosed with the disease (WHO,
2017).
– 80% of asthma deaths in both developed and developing
countries (WHO, 2017).
 The prevention and management of asthma remain
suboptimal despite the remarkable developments in the
diagnosis and management of asthma.
 This paper uses a case study approach of an asthmatic
adult patient in the community care clinic to explore on
the pathophysiology, aetiology and management of
asthma

Definitions
 Asthma is a chronic inflammatory illness of the
respiratory system
 The chronic inflammation is linked to extreme
narrowing of the airways in response to triggers.
 Symptoms: shortness of breath, wheezing, chest
constriction and coughing (GINA, 2018).
 Comprehensive clinical assessment is critical to
ascertain the condition of a patient and the right
intervention (Potter et al., 2016).
 The complex nature of asthma requires critical
clinical diagnosis

Clinical Diagnosis of Asthma
 Patients presenting with usual symptoms of wheeze,
cough and chest constriction should be checked for
asthma (Daar et al., 2009).
 Risk of developing asthma is increased by the
presence of triggers e.g. family history, occupational
exposures, air pollution etc. (Pinnock et al., 2010).
 Esther was presented with breathlessness, wheezing
at night and her conditions are accelerated by cold
weather, dust and wood smoke
 Vital signs indicate moderate asthma