Guidance and Best Practice

This article has been created as a summary of a range of material from PCRS tools and encompasses the basics of a good respiratory review.

A guide commissioned to provide clarity on aspects of diagnosis, management and monitoring of asthma.

Now is the time to make MART moves for asthma. We have been using the separate blue (reliever) and brown (preventer) inhalers for far too long. The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) came out a decade ago, yet as a nation, we still have the highest asthma death rate in Europe. This is unsurprising, considering many patients still rely on their blue inhalers alone. However, 

Maintenance and reliever therapy (MART) is a treatment for asthma where a single combined inhaler is used for both maintenance and reliever purposes, instead of having separate preventer (brown) and reliever (blue) inhalers. 

Inhalation is the main route for administration of drugs for conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The advantage of administering drugs by inhaler is that drugs are delivered directly to the site of action within the airways. The onset of action is rapid and systemic adverse effects are minimised. However, for an inhaler to be effective the correct drug must be prescribed and the device must be used correctly. Poor inhaler technique is common.

This article explores the impact of the environment on the health of people with asthma and COPD and focuses on two key areas, indoor (home) and outdoor pollutants and severe weather extremes such as heat waves or very cold weather

In this article Lisa Cummings, Queens Nurse, CYP Specialist Asthma Practitioner and PCRS Education Committee member, discusses the management of asthma and atopy in children and young people focusing on perennial and allergic rhinitis, it’s impact on asthma and top tips for reducing symptoms and improving control.

This online learning module will take you through the GINA approach to managing asthma and using this, in collaboration with patients, to ensure and maintain optimal treatment for people with asthma. We will explore the GINA model and how it can be applied to facilitate best practice asthma care.We have incorporated MCQs to gauge your grasp of the module; providing clear explanations for each correct answer to enhance your understanding.