Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment
Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment
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 ones. 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 Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment.
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To Prepare
Reflect on 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.
Consider how you might apply the stepwise approach to address the health needs of a patient in your practice.
Reflect on how stepwise management assists health care providers and patients in gaining and maintaining control of the disease Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment.
By Day 7 of Week 3
Create a 5- to 6-slide PowerPoint presentation that can be used in a staff development meeting on presenting different approaches for implementing the stepwise approach for asthma treatment. Be sure to address the following:
Describe long-term control and quick relief treatment options for the asthma patient from your practice as well as the impact these drugs might have on your patient.
Explain the stepwise approach to asthma treatment and management for your patient.
Explain how stepwise management assists health care providers and patients in gaining and maintaining control of the disease. Be specific.
Introduction
Asthma is a respiratory disease affecting over 18 million adults in the United States.
This respiratory health condition is characterized by the swelling of the swelling and narrowing of the airways thus leading to difficulty in breathing and wheezing among other symptoms (Fleischer et al., 2021)Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment.
Advanced practice nurses are trained to conduct an accurate diagnosis and develop an appropriate treatment plan.
The peak expiratory flow (PEF) is another lung test that is used to show the maximum rate of airflow during expiration.
Long-term control treatment for asthma
Asthma is a long term health condition that needs a long-term management and control because of the causative agents like genetics and triggers. Therefore, long-term asthma medication controls are taken daily and are very important because of its efficiency in helping asthmatic patients to keep their asthma under control (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2021). Additionally, it is important to understand that medication adherence is essential because it helps in controlling asthmatic attacks events and other symptoms. Some of the long term asthma control treatment includes inhaled corticosteroids that are taken for several days to weeks thus providing optimum benefits to asthmatic patients. Inhaled corticosteroids like fluticasone propionate, budesonide, and beclomethasone have a low risk of side effects as compared to oral corticosteroids (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2021)Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment. Additionally, leukotriene modifiers and theophylline are other long term asthma medication control that are taken orally thus relieving asthma symptoms by opening airways and relaxing the muscles around the airways.
Quick control treatment for asthma
Quick relief medications are also known as rescue medications are used to relieve asthma symptoms during asthmatic attacks (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2021). Some of the quick-relief medications include short-acting beta-agonists which are inhaled bronchodilators that act within minutes to relieve the symptoms during an asthma attack. Examples of such medications are albuterol and levalbuterol. Oral and intravenous corticosteroids are other sets of short-term quick-relief medication used to treat severe asthma symptoms; however, they can cause serious side effects when used on a long-term basis (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2021)Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment. Another important rescue medication is anticholinergic agents which are bronchodilators acting quickly by relaxing the airways thus easing breathing.
Stepwise approach for asthma treatment
The American academy of allergy, asthma, and immunology (AAAAI) introduced the stepwise approach to help in managing and controlling asthma by either stepping up or stepping down the medications depending on severity of the condition and the use of medications (Fleischer et al., 2021). The stepwise approach consists of six steps where each step has the most preferred medication for asthma control. For step one for instance, SABA medications are preferred when need be while a low dose of ICS is preferred in step two with montelukast or cromolyn are considered as the most preferred alternatives. The medium dose ICS are preferred in step three, medium dose ICS with either LABA or montelukast are preferred in step four while a high dose of ICS with either LABA or montelukast are preferred in step five (Cloutier et al., 2020)Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment. The final step involves the use of high dose ICS with either LABA or montelukast as a preferred medication and oral systemic corticosteroids as effective alternatives.
The impact of long and short-term asthma drugs
Asthma is a condition that can make a patient use multiple drugs at the same time and therefore, advanced practice nurses ensure that they provide alternative drugs that interact well with the current drugs the patient is using (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2021). However, it is important to understand the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the drugs in regards to patients’ age and other factors like the liver and renal functions. Some medications like LTRAs can initiate exercise-induced bronchospasms (EIB) forcing advanced practice nurses to introduce LABAs like zileuton as alternative drugs (Beasley et al., 2020). This type of medication should be prescribed carefully to prevent drug toxicity especially when a patient has impaired liver functions. Additionally, continuous use of SABAs is not recommended for long-term use because it can cause serious side effects while corticosteroids can be given with SABAs for severe to moderate asthma exacerbations because it helps in reducing recovery time as well as the risk or recurrence (Beasley et al., 2020)Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment. Oral corticosteroids are helpful in the cessation of severe asthma exacerbations.
Stepwise management and maintenance
The stepwise management approach is important because it helps in improving asthma patients’ health as well as achieving asthma remission. The main purpose of the stepwise approach is to achieve asthma control and efficient management of symptoms, and therefore, patients need to continue the practice of drug therapy until they achieve a stable balance of the asthma condition and the medications being used (Beasley et al., 2020). Additionally, it is important to understand that 3-month asthma control is not sufficient enough to assure the patient of a step-down treatment because advanced practice nurses ensure that asthma patients using a stepwise approach attain a 6-month asthma control period to advise the patient on a step-down treatment option (Fleischer et al., 2021). On the other hand, advanced practice nurses educate the patients that the goal of the stepwise approach is to increase medication dosage to a point that a patient can sleep well with no frequent asthma attacks and emergency room visits then regulate the medication using a step-down treatment once this goal is achieved Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment.
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References
Beasley, R., Braithwaite, I., Semprini, A., Kearns, C., Weatherall, M., & Pavord, I. D. (2020). Optimal asthma control: time for a new target. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 201(12), 1480-1487. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201910-1934CI
Cloutier, M. M., Dixon, A. E., Krishnan, J. A., Lemanske, R. F., Pace, W., & Schatz, M. (2020). Managing asthma in adolescents and adults: 2020 asthma guideline update from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Jama, 324(22), 2301-2317. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.21974
Fleischer, D. M., Chan, E. S., Venter, C., Spergel, J. M., Abrams, E. M., Stukus, D., … & Greenhawt, M. (2021). A consensus approach to the primary prevention of food allergy through nutrition: guidance from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology; American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology; and the Canadian Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 9(1), 22-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2020.11.002
Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2021). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants (2nd ed.) Asthma And Stepwise Management Assignment