Abraham (“Abe”) Guz: a life devoted to breathing and breathlessness

Steps to better understand severe asthma in adults

“…The 2013 international ERS/ATS guidelines classify severe asthma as a disease that requires treatment with high doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and/or systemic corticosteroids in order to obtain symptom control or which remains problematic despite this therapy. 25 Any of the criteria outlined in Table 2 qualifies a patient as having ongoing symptoms and therefore severe asthma that needs referring to a specialist centre that offers a multidisciplinary service utilising a team experienced in the assessment and management of difficult asthma. 26 Severe asthma requires systematic evaluation for confounding factors and exacerbating triggers and, equally importantly, confirmation that asthma is the correct diagnosis by a multidisciplinary team.…”