Asthma Signs and Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms

Definition

Defined as a heterogeneous disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation that results in recurrent episodes of wheeze, shortness of breath (SOB), chest tightness and/or cough that vary over time and in intensity, with variable expiratory airflow limitation

Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms are usually associated with airflow obstruction; which is often reversible either spontaneously or with treatment
These symptoms tend to be >1 type of respiratory symptom, intermittent, variable, worse at night or upon waking, and provoked by triggers, eg exercise, allergens, irritant exposure, weather changes, drugs or viral respiratory infections

Types of Asthma

Asthma phenotypes (clusters of asthma characteristics) differ in clinical manifestations, pathophysiology and demographic location of the patient
- Allergic asthma: Present in childhood, with a positive family history of asthma, and previous history of allergy such as eczema, food allergy, allergic rhinitis, etc
- Non-allergic asthma: Asthma without an allergic component
- Late-onset asthma: Also called adult-onset; asthma presenting and diagnosed for the first time in adult years
- Asthma with fixed airflow limitation: Airway wall remodeling due to chronic airway inflammation causing irreversible airflow obstruction
- Asthma with obesity: Prevalence of symptomatic asthma is increased in those suffering from obesity

Mepolizumab: Targeting eosinophils in severe asthma with precision medicine

Pearl Toh, 16 Sep 2020

Mepolizumab, a first-in-class anti-IL-5* antibody, effectively prevents asthma exacerbations in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA), according to a presentation at the ERS 2020 Congress.

Kids hard-hit by Delta; which ART performs best?

Elvira Manzano, 24 Oct 2021

That COVID-19 mostly spared children might be changing. The Delta variant has taken a severe, unthinkable toll on kids – at least in Arkansas, US, reports an expert at IDWeek 2021.

Long COVID: What we have learned so far

Prof. Ghassan Dbaibo, 27 Apr 2023

The WHO defines long COVID as a condition that occurs 3 months from COVID-19 onset, whose symptoms last ≥2 months and cannot be attributed to an alternative diagnosis. In an interview with MIMS Doctor, Professor Ghassan Dbaibo of the Center for Infectious Diseases, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, describes the evolving attitudes towards long COVID among healthcare professionals (HCPs), some unexpected predisposing factors, potential biological mechanisms behind prolonged symptom duration and shares data on vaccination’s protective effects against long COVID.