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Master asthma diagnosis and management concepts
Content based on NHLBI Expert Panel Report: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (EPR-3)
Asthma diagnosis is based on clinical presentation and objective measures of reversible airway obstruction.
Key Diagnostic Features:
- •Recurrent symptoms of airway obstruction: wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath
- •Symptoms often worse at night or early morning
- •Symptoms triggered by: exercise, allergens, irritants, weather changes, viral infections
- •Family history of asthma or atopy increases likelihood
- •Physical exam may show wheezing, prolonged expiration during exacerbation
Role of Spirometry (for patients ≥5 years)
- •FEV1/FVC ratio <0.80 suggests obstruction
- •Improvement in FEV1 ≥12% AND ≥200mL after bronchodilator confirms reversibility
- •Normal spirometry does not rule out asthma
- •Consider methacholine challenge if spirometry normal but asthma suspected