Management of asthma exacerbations in children

Asthma exacerbations are episodes of worsening asthma symptoms with shortness of breath, cough, wheeze and/or tight chest that require an increase in asthma treatment. A major change in the recommendations for managing mild asthma exacerbations is the move away from using inhaled short-acting beta-2 agonists (SABAs) as the sole reliever, toward a combination of a rapid-onset, long-acting beta-2 agonist, formoterol, in combination with an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), or a SABA used together with an ICS in separate inhalers, in older children and adolescents. In children <11 years of age who are adherent to daily ICS treatment, the ICS dose should not be increased short term. A written asthma plan should include instructions on how to self-manage asthma exacerbations, and when to present to a medical facility. Oxygen is an essential component of the management of asthma exacerbations at both primary care and emergency department facilities, together with inhaled SABAs via metered-dose inhaler and spacer, and oral corticosteroids.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Kling,S, White,D A
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	South African Medical Association 2021
Online Access:	http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256-95742021000800011
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