Asthma is a common chronic condition affecting the airways. It is becoming increasingly recognised by health care workers. Epidemiological studies suggest that, along with other atopic diseases, its prevalence is rising. This book will provide a practical, evidence-based guide to the main aspects of asthma.

Asthma is a common chronic condition affecting the airways. It is becoming increasingly recognised by health care workers. Epidemiological studies suggest that, along with other atopic diseases, its prevalence is rising. Despite greater knowledge surrounding the origins of asthma and considerable advances in its management, it remains one of the most important chronic diseases in young Western adults and poses a significant degree of morbidity throughout all age groups. Complications of asthma contribute to significant costs for health care systems and are implicated in adversely affecting the quality of life of individuals and their families. This book provides a compact, practical, evidence-based guide by which to offer the reader a useful update of the main clinical aspects of the overall syndrome of asthma. The reader is also provided with a series of real-life case scenarios involving problems encountered in the management of patients, along with numerous references and websites by which to access further material.

1. Epidemiology, pathogenesis and pathophysiology
2. Clinical features and diagnosis
3. Non-pharmacological management
4. Pharmacological management
5. Inhalers
6. Asthma in primary care
7. Acute asthma
8. Occupational asthma
9. Asthma in pregnancy
10. Paediatric asthma
11. Difficult asthma
12. New treatments and the future
13. Asthma in special circumstances, case histories and useful websites