Introduction
Over the past years, the notion of asthma in the context of US healthcare has gained much recognition due to the steady increase in disease prevalence. Thus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), asthma prevalence across the state has increased by more than 2%, claiming almost 10% of the population to struggle with the health condition. Asthma, being a chronic disease, can be controlled as far as the symptoms and attacks are concerned, as the act of disease negligence will inevitably result in the overall deterioration in terms of attack severity and frequency (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Hence, in order to obtain a better understanding of the issue, both long-term control and quick-relief treatment options will be outlined for a chosen patient.
Patient Profile
Speaking of the patient profile, the first aspects that should be mentioned are the peculiarities of asthma disease history and other health conditions that might affect the treatment pattern. Hence, the patient is a 30-year-old female who has asthma for almost 28 years, started in early childhood. According to the general patient’s characteristics, the woman lives with obesity (with a BMI level of 31), hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. The treatment pattern of the patient includes Albuterol long-term intake, inhaling two actuations of 90mcg/ actuation, as prescribed in the recommendations for exploitation. Hence, based on the information above, both long-term and immediate relief inhalation plans will be introduced.
Stepwise Long-Term Control
According to the researchers, long-term control of asthma is primarily created for the sake of disease deterioration prevention, including wheezing, cough, breathing issues, and asthma attacks as such (Sheikh et al., 2020). Thus, such an intervention in the treatment process may be of significant benefit for the patients at risk of having severe and frequent attacks. The treatment pattern for the patient should look as follows:
- Albuterol intake, inhaling two actuations every 4-6 hours, constituting approximately 180 mcg per one procedure. The average number of intakes is not to exceed ten times per 24 hours.
- Considering the overall health condition of the patient, any physical activity may trigger the asthma attack. Thus, the Albuterol should be taken 15-30 minutes prior to the physical activity, provided the activity itself does not take more than two hours on average.
Stepwise Quick-Relief Intervention
Bearing in mind the information about the general health state of the patient, it is evident that she requires the long-term intake of Albuterol due to the various risks that trigger lack of breathing. According to the researchers, the effect of quick-relief asthma treatment Is not as visible and beneficial when compared to the one of long-term intervention (Fergeson et al., 2017). However, in some cases, i.e., during the periods of acute asthma (allergy emergence) or ordinary attacks, the long-term preventative measures are not sufficient for the patient. In the given case, such situations should be handled by immediate Albuterol intake, varying from two to four actuations depending on the attack severity level. Albuterol, as a major medication, will be used in both cases, as it is proved to be beneficial for the patient.
Treatment Complications
When speaking of asthma treatment, it should be mentioned that every pattern of medication intake obtains a variety of highly individual effects on the human body and health, depending on one’s subsequent diseases. Thus, when speaking of the adverse effects of Albuterol, the following complications may be outlined:
- The most widespread effects – tremor and nervousness, as the active substance tackles the motor nerve terminals.
- Effects occurring in one out of ten patients – insomnia and nausea
- Rare effects – fever, bronchospasm, vomiting, allergy, pain, gas, increased appetite, depression, dry mouth, increased blood pressure (Johnson et al., 2020).
Hence, as far as the aforementioned patient is concerned, it is of crucial importance for the practitioner to keep track of her general well-being due to the fact that such conditions as diabetes and hypertension may intensify the drug impact. In such cases, the average medication intake is to be modified according to the patient’s body’s condition.
Conclusion
Having taken everything into consideration, it may be concluded that asthma treatment is an extremely individual endeavor that should be customized according to the needs of each patient. In terms of the following paper, on the example of a 30-tear-old female patient, it was estimated that long-term asthma control plays a crucial role in terms of the overall disease management. Hence, both long-term control and quick relief intervention were planned regarding the use of Albuterol, as the following medication has proved to be efficient for the patient over the past years. However, in order to ensure treatment success, the patient should be constantly examined by the practitioners.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Learn how to control asthma. Web.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Asthma: data, statistics, and prevalence. Web.
- Fergeson, J. E., Patel, S. S., & Lockey, R. F. (2017). Acute asthma, prognosis, and treatment. Journal of Allergy and Clinical immunology, 139(2), 438-447.
- Johnson, D. B., Merrell, B. J., & Bounds, C. G. (2020). Albuterol. Web.
- Sheikh, S. I., Ryan-Wenger, N. A., Pitts, J., Nemastil, C. J., & Palacios, S. (2020). Impact of asthma severity on long-term asthma control. Journal of Asthma, 1-10.