KOCHI: For successful asthma management, education and self-management are essential. The intention is to provide guidance for family members and caregivers on how to help a patient while experiencing symptoms or an asthma attack.
A detailed asthma action plan ensures that everyone is on the same page when it comes to managing a person’s asthma, which is especially important during emergencies. An asthma action plan is a set of instructions created by a doctor and his team for the patient to manage symptoms and prevent future attacks. It includes but is not limited to, information on how to recognise and respond to worsening symptoms, what medications to take and when to seek medical help.
A cross-sectional study done in 2019 on 363 patients spread over five years concluded that most of the asthmatic patients had insufficient knowledge and/or poor adherence to their treatment, which impacted their quality of life. A written asthma action plan was effective in increasing the patient’s knowledge about their condition, improving their quality of life and functional limitations, and increasing their confidence about controlling their asthma.
A specialist will develop an individualised action plan during a patient’s initial visit. During the first visit, information regarding medications, treatment goals, how the plan will help the patient achieve these goals, and when to seek urgent medical help, etc., will be incorporated.
An asthma patient should have important self-management knowledge. A 2005 study conducted a controlled trial with prospective, open, random parallel group involving 60 children between the ages of 5 and 12 with physician-diagnosed moderate persistent asthma. The study concluded that “the addition of a written individualised home-management plan improves the overall control of asthma in children with moderate persistent disease severity and should form an integral component of treatment protocols in addition to family education and pharmacological interventions.”
The plan
Asthma action plans are typically divided into colour-coded zones, which call for various actions based on the patient’s current symptoms or peak flow measurements.
Peak flow meters are devices which measure your peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), a number that correlates with how open the lung’s airways are; as asthma worsens and the airways narrow, the PEFR decreases. Monitoring can help determine the most appropriate asthma treatment plan.
Peak flow monitoring should be performed on a regular basis, even when asthma symptoms are not present. Patients should measure peak flow if they develop coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath.
Having an asthma action plan is a crucial aspect of managing it effectively. It details what steps are to be taken in case of an asthma attack, how to prevent them from occurring, and when to seek medical help.
Multiple studies have shown the benefits of having an asthma action plan, including reduced frequency and severity of asthma attacks, increased confidence in managing the condition, improved quality of life, and decreased need for emergency medical treatment.
The writer is a pulmonologist consultant at Lourdes Hospitals, Kochi