FG advocates for better diagnosis management of asthma patients
The Federal Government has been called upon to put in place measures that would ensure the proper diagnosis and management of asthma in the country in order to reduce the burden of the disease in the country.Making the call in Lagos during the official launch of the new Guidelines for the Management of Asthma, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Professor Wale Oke, said that there was need for more emphasis on the control of asthma, in addition to the relief of symptoms of the disorder.
Oke, who recalled that asthma was once believed to be more of an acute ailment as opposed to a chronic inflammatory disease, argued that the emphasis on the inflammatory component of the disease has brought about a paradigm shift in the way it has been managed across the world.
According to him, “in the past, management and treatment of asthma was based on individual opinion, individual perception and sometimes even personal belief. Asthma was categorized according to the severity of its symptoms rather than how it could be controlled. What is desired is accurate, basic and balanced information to assist practitioners.”
He regretted that in developing countries like Nigeria, the severity of asthma is grossly underestimated, and that it was not surprising that the shift in treatment plan remains unimplemented.