Question

Ruta is a 36 years old female with a weight of 60kg. She was admitted to the hospital on 15/04/2020. She was just getting home from her gardening and she just felt uneasy to breathe. She has been noticing for a while that she is having trouble in breathing and her chest tightens. She is also having coughing with mucus. She said because of shortness of breath (SOB), sometimes she is not able to speak in full sentence. She also stays awake occasionally in the night because of SOB and wheezing. Her past medical histories were hypercholesterolemia and asthma. She has no known drug and food allergy. She is working occasionally now and is living alone. She is a smoker and drinks occasionally. She has no known family history. The Emergency Department (ED) doctor has diagnosed her with Exacerbation of Asthma.

She is on salbutamol 200mcg as required.

Question

The following drugs are used in the management of asthma.

• Salbutamol

• Inhaled corticosteroid

Choose ONE that is appropriate for your person/client. Discuss why it can be used by your person/client by referring to its mechanism of action.

Answer 1

Answer: In the case of the mild Exacerbation of Asthma, the inhaled corticosteroids have to be proven better choice for the treatment. The inhaled corticosteroids reduces the symptoms of the asthma and clears the air passage for better respiration.

The mechanism or action includes as it works by inhibiting the late phase reaction. This inhibits the release of the LTB4 release. Thus it reduces the mucus secretions by inhibiting the secretagogue release from the macrophage.