[Therapeutic management of asthma]

The clinical manifestations of bronchial asthma fall into two categories: acute asthma which consists of asthmatic attacks and their variants, and chronic asthma. The treatment of acute asthma is now well established, while that of chronic asthma, more difficult to organize, is part of a true therapeutic strategy which has two aspects: A more global approach to the treatment must be developed. This means full management of asthmatic patients who must be instructed and considered as active partners in the prevention of acute attacks, the evaluation of the severity of their disease and the application of the treatment prescribed. An asthma severity scale must be devised and a specific therapeutic programme must be offered for each stage of the disease. The general principle, beside treatment of acute asthma, is to pay much attention to the intercritical situation and, in particular, to treat effectively the bronchial inflammation.