American College of Physicians

Asthma is a major medical problem in the United States, one that is being diagnosed with increasing frequency. Almost 75% of patients with asthma are adults, and more than 2500 adults in the United States die each year from the disease. The latest volume in the ACP Key Disease Series, Asthma is intended for primary care physicians, who provide the majority of care for adult asthma patients. Its 14 chapters provide essential information on the causes and classifications of asthma and its diagnosis and treatment. Asthma also features illustrative case studies that focus on patients in the office setting. Topics include the pathogenesis, evaluation, and differential diagnosis of asthma, pharmacotherapy and immunotherapy, exercise- and drug-induced asthma, asthma in the pregnant patient and the elderly, occupational asthma, and the relation of gastroesophageal reflux disease to asthma. Written by a team of allergists and members of internal medicine departments, Asthma provides the evidenced-based information physicians need for the diagnosis and management of their adult patients with this common and potentially deadly disease.