Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Medical Journal logoLink to British Medical Journal
. 1972 Oct 14;4(5832):93–95. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5832.93

Asthma in the Elderly

H Y Lee, T B Stretton
PMCID: PMC1786265  PMID: 5077475

Abstract

Fifteen patients who developed asthma after the age of 60 years are reported. Attention is drawn to apparent difficulties of diagnosis in this age group. A history of chronic bronchitis is common, and a change in symptoms, especially the abrupt onset of increased breathlessness, wheezing, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea, should arouse suspicion of the development of asthma. A past or family history of allergy is confirmatory evidence, as is the presence of blood or sputum eosinophilia. Retrosternal pain is not uncommon, and angina pectoris or left ventricular failure must be excluded. Chest radiographs showed changes consistent with old quiescent tuberculosis in five patients; careful follow-up is therefore essential as asthma in this age group often requires steroid therapy.

Full text

PDF
95

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BROWN H. M. Treatment of chronic asthma with prednisolone; significance of eosinophils in the sputum. Lancet. 1958 Dec 13;2(7059):1245–1247. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(58)91385-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Burns B. H., Howell J. B. Disproportionately severe breathlessness in chronic bronchitis. Q J Med. 1969 Jul;38(151):277–294. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Burns M. W., May J. R. Haemophilus influenzae precipitins in the serum of patients with chronic bronchial disorders. Lancet. 1967 Feb 18;1(7486):354–358. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(67)92895-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. CAMPBELL E. J., HOWELL J. B. Rebreathing method for measurement of mixed venous PCO2. Br Med J. 1962 Sep 8;2(5305):630–633. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5305.630. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Derrick E. H. The significance of the age of onset of asthma. Med J Aust. 1971 Jun 19;1(25):1317–1319. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1971.tb88132.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Epstein S. W., Fletcher C. M., Oppenheimer E. A. Daily peak flow measurements in the assessment of steroid therapy for airway obstruction. Br Med J. 1969 Jan 25;1(5638):223–225. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5638.223. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. FAGERBERG E. Studies in bronchial asthma. II. A. comparative examination between patients with endogenous and exogenous bronchial asthma respectively, with regard to age when taken ill. Acta Allergol. 1957;11(4):327–342. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ford R. M. Aetiology of asthma: a review of 11,551 cases (1958 to 1968). Med J Aust. 1969 Mar 22;1(12):628–631. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb92346.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. MAY J. R. Pathogenic bacteria in chronic bronchitis. Lancet. 1954 Oct 23;267(6843):839–842. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(54)91931-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. OGILVIE A. G. Asthma: a study in prognosis of 1,000 patients. Thorax. 1962 Sep;17:183–189. doi: 10.1136/thx.17.3.183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Williams H., McNicol K. N. Prevalence, natural history, and relationship of wheezy bronchitis and asthma in children. An epidemiological study. Br Med J. 1969 Nov 8;4(5679):321–325. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5679.321. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES