Main description:

Asthma is a very common chronic disease involving the respiratory system in which the airways occasionally constrict, become inflamed, and are lined with excessive amounts of mucus, often in response to one or more triggers. In children, the most common triggers are viral illnesses, such as those that cause the common cold and identifiable allergies. This airway narrowing causes symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. While
measurement of airway function is possible for adults, most new cases are diagnosed in children who are unable to perform such tests. Diagnosis in children is based on a careful compilation and analysis of the patient's medical history and subsequent improvement with an inhaled bronchodilator medication.

This 2nd edition provides clinicians with an update on the management of asthma, and includes new sections covering paediatric asthma, new treatment strategies, and updated management guidelines (including new British Thoracic Society [BTS] guidelines).

Contents:

1. Epidemiology, pathology and pathophysiology ; 2. Diagnosis ; 3. Non-pharmacological management ; 4. Pharmacological management ; 5. Inhalers ; 6. Acute exacerbations ; 7. Occupational asthma ; 8. Asthma in special circumstances ; 9. Paediatric asthma: epidemiology and aetiology ; 10. Paediatric asthma: diagnosis ; 11. Paediatric asthma: acute management ; 12. Paediatric asthma: chronic management ; 13. Primary care ; 14. Difficult asthma