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Review
. 2018 Mar 6;5(1):1440868.
doi: 10.1080/20018525.2018.1440868. eCollection 2018.

Nordic consensus statement on the systematic assessment and management of possible severe asthma in adults

Affiliations
Review

Nordic consensus statement on the systematic assessment and management of possible severe asthma in adults

Celeste Porsbjerg et al. Eur Clin Respir J. .

Abstract

Although a minority of asthma patients suffer from severe asthma, they represent a major clinical challenge in terms of poor symptom control despite high-dose treatment, risk of exacerbations, and side effects. Novel biological treatments may benefit patients with severe asthma, but are expensive, and are only effective in appropriately targeted patients. In some patients, symptoms are driven by other factors than asthma, and all patients with suspected severe asthma ('difficult asthma') should undergo systematic assessment, in order to differentiate between true severe asthma, and 'difficult-to-treat' patients, in whom poor control is related to factors such as poor adherence or co-morbidities. The Nordic Consensus Statement on severe asthma was developed by the Nordic Severe Asthma Network, consisting of members from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Estonia, including representatives from the respective national respiratory scientific societies with the aim to provide an overview and recommendations regarding the diagnosis, systematic assessment and management of severe asthma. Furthermore, the Consensus Statement proposes recommendations for the organization of severe asthma management in primary, secondary, and tertiary care.

Keywords: Asthma; co-morbidities; diagnosis; guideline; management; prevalence; severe.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Severe asthma: definition and systematic assessement.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Systematic assessment of possible severe asthma.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Treatment steps according to GINA guidelines on asthma (REF).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
A model for organization of severe asthma management.

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