Asthma: How far can maintenance treatment be stopped?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Tran Thi Diem Trang - Respiratory Internal Medicine Doctor - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.
Treatment of bronchial asthma is aimed at reducing symptoms of the disease that affect health and quality of life. At the same time, maintenance treatment is the way to minimize the risk of serious and critical disease development. In the course of treatment reaching a certain level of stability, the patient can completely stop the treatment of bronchial asthma.

1. When can maintenance therapy be indicated in patients with bronchial asthma?

The goal of maintenance treatment of asthma is complete control of the symptoms of the disease, the patient does not need to use reliever medication, and does not have symptoms that occur day and night. Treatment maintains the patient's respiratory function stable and normal, improves the quality of life and health of the patient. Cases in which maintenance therapy may be indicated include:
People with symptoms diagnosed as asthma People with severe episodes of wheezing due to viral onset, although infrequently People who are monitoring asthma, need to use it regular inhaled SABA People hospitalized with severe, critical asthma Maintenance treatment of asthma according to specific symptom control is given by physicians as follows:
After 4 weeks of initial treatment, medication Continued treatment options are available depending on prior asthma control. Patients will have access to maintenance treatment that increases or decreases treatment steps to help control symptoms, minimize the risk of asthma attacks and drug side effects later on.
The course of maintenance treatment should be assessed for response and adjusted treatment in accordance with the patient's progress. Depending on the level of control with the goal of asthma control with medication, it is possible to reduce the dose of medication to the lowest possible for the patient.
To assess response and adjust treatment is based on the following table:

2. When should asthma maintenance therapy be discontinued?

Consider discontinuing maintenance therapy if the patient is symptom-free within 6-12 months of treatment, the patient is on the lowest level of treatment, and has no risk factors for progression. Patients should take care not to discontinue treatment during the season or when they have respiratory infections, high pollen season or more allergens that cause more severe illness.
Cases of discontinuing maintenance treatment should be re-examined 3-6 weeks to check for recurrence of symptoms, if so, need to resume treatment.
In order to help patients prevent and screen for asthma effectively, Vinmec has developed an Asthma Screening Package for high-risk patients such as:
Having recurrent attacks of wheezing or wheezing Cough often increased especially at night or early morning causing awakening Cough or wheezing after physical activity

Have persistent shortness of breath according to a certain season of the year Cough, wheezing or shortness of breath after exposure to respiratory allergens (house dust, mold...) or irritants (paints, oils, etc.) , perfume...) Ever had a cold that led to pneumonia or lasted for more than 10 days Ever had a diagnosis of asthma but it's not clear. Asthma screening package helps to screen for early disease detection to promptly control and treat the disease and perform clinical examination, take medical history, measure respiratory function, otolaryngology examination, screening for bronchial asthma .
Vinmec team of highly qualified and experienced doctors; full range of professional means to diagnose, determine the cause of bronchial asthma and stage it before treatment; quick examination time, thorough consultation, easy compliance with treatment management, helping patients feel secure in examination and treatment.
Doctor Tran Thi Diem Trang has more than 10 years of experience in the treatment of respiratory diseases. The doctor used to hold an important position at the asthma clinic of Pham Ngoc Thach hospital before working at the Department of General Internal Medicine - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital as it is today.

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