A quarter of patients with severe asthma underestimate the severity of the problem, and this is compounded by a lack of adherence to therapy. These elements once again recall the need to stress how important asthma should not be underestimated and should be correctly diagnosed and treated in a personalized manner. Professor Giorgio Walter Canonica, Head of the Centre for Personalized Medicine: Asthma and Allergology in Humanitas, spoke about this issue in an interview with Life – The objective of well-being on Rai Radio1.
“Asthma has been considered as a pediatric onset disease for a very long time. It was true once, but it is no longer true today because this disease occurs at all ages. What we clinically observe today is an onset of late asthma, even severe asthma, in patients who were once considered to suffer from chronic bronchitis,” explains Prof. Canonica.
“Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease and like other chronic diseases it has a deficit of adherence to therapy. This is because the patient is reluctant to take medication in the absence of symptoms, and as a result adherence to therapy for obstructive bronchial diseases is 13.8%. There is therefore a need for greater awareness among patients and the general public of this type of disease and the importance of treating themselves properly,” the professor suggests.
Diagnosis and treatment of severe asthma
“It is important to first of all point out that there are centers for severe asthma organized in networks and it is very important to diagnose and treat this type of asthma correctly.
If the patient hears a minimum hissing sound, perhaps by exercising or exerting an effort, it is good to tell your doctor. The specialist will make the appropriate checks, now codified, such as a spirometry.
The latest international guidelines include new treatments for severe asthma, such as the inclusion of a new bronchodilator for severe moderate asthma, which is already in use for COPD; Immunotherapy is specific that will soon be available in Italy in the form of tablets; a new biological drug, a monoclonal antibody that can control, decrease or eradicate eosinophilic inflammation at the level of bronchi”, explains Prof. Dr. M. M. Canonical.
