In assessing asthma control, the British Thoracic Society recommends using sputum eosinophilia determinations to guide therapy. An improvement in asthma control, a decrease in hospitalizations, and a decrease in exacerbations were noted in those patients in whom sputum-guided therapy was used.
Chest radiography remains the initial imaging evaluation in most individuals with symptoms of asthma. The value of chest radiography is in revealing complications or alternative causes of wheezing and the minor importance of wheezing in the diagnosis of asthma and its exacerbations. Chest radiography usually is more useful in the initial diagnosis of bronchial asthma than in the detection of exacerbations, although it is valuable in excluding complications such as pneumonia and asthma mimics, even during exacerbations.
SBC is a novel technique for measuring pulmonary function in children. SBC is the measurement of how far an individual can count using a normal speaking voice after one maximal effort inhalation. The count is in cadence to a metronome that is set at 2 beats per second. Further studies are needed to establish values and to evaluate the use in an emergency department population of patients with acute asthma exacerbation.
Total serum immunoglobulin E levels greater than 100 IU are frequently observed in patients experiencing allergic reactions, but this finding is not specific for asthma and may be observed in patients with other conditions (eg, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, Churg-Strauss syndrome). A normal total serum immunoglobulin E level does not exclude the diagnosis of asthma.
For more on the workup of asthma, read here.
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Cite this: Richard H. Sinert. Fast Five Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Common Summer Injuries - Medscape - Jun 26, 2017.
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