Outpatient treatment of adult asthma.

As a chronic disease with intermittent exacerbations, asthma is treated primarily in the outpatient setting by primary care physicians. Asthma is the result of complex and only partially understood interactions of respiratory, inflammatory, and neural cells and their mediators. The goals of asthma therapy are to prevent and relieve symptoms, allow normal activities of daily living, restore and maintain normal pulmonary function, avoid adverse effects from interventions, and minimize inconvenience and cost. These goals can be achieved through educating patients, assessing and monitoring asthma severity, avoiding or controlling asthma triggers, establishing an intervention plan for routine self-management and the management of exacerbations, and providing regular follow-up care. We present a stepped approach to asthma pharmacotherapy, emphasizing anti-inflammatory therapy--inhaled corticosteroids, cromolyn sodium, or nedocromil sodium--as a summary of recent national and international recommendations.