Figure - PMC

Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

View full-text article in PMC

. 2021 Apr 1;203(7):809–821. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202009-3631CI

Search in PMC
Search in PubMed
View in NLM Catalog
Add to search

Copyright © 2021 by the American Thoracic Society

This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). For commercial usage and reprints, please contact Diane Gern (dgern@thoracic.org).

PMC Copyright notice

Figure 1. — (A) Suggested flow diagram for the initial assessment of a patient with difficult asthma, before confirmation of diagnosis of severe asthma, based on current or previous evidence for airway obstruction, with or without reversibility. (B) Suggested flow diagram for the initial evaluation of a patient after confirming a diagnosis of severe asthma. Each algorithm includes initial and continued assessment and treatment of risk factors and comorbid conditions, as well as prescription of and adherence to standard therapies at each step. Fe_NO-Hi is characterized by >24 ppb, and Eos-Hi is characterized by 300 cells/μl, although in some cases, ≥150 cells/μl may be sufficient (see text for further details). ACO = asthma–COPD overlap; AG = asthmatic granulomatosis; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CRP = C-reactive protein; CT = computed tomography; EGPA = eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis; Eos = eosinophils; eval = evaluation; Fe_NO = fraction of exhaled NO; Hi = high; HP = hypersensitivity pneumonitis; HS = Hi-sensitivity; LAMA = long-acting muscarinic antagonist; Lo = low; Neg = negative; OCS = oral corticosteroid; Pos = positive; pred = predicted; T2 = type 2; VATS = video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

Figure 1. — (A) Suggested flow diagram for the initial assessment of a patient with difficult asthma, before confirmation of diagnosis of severe asthma, based on current or previous evidence for airway obstruction, with or without reversibility. (B) Suggested flow diagram for the initial evaluation of a patient after confirming a diagnosis of severe asthma. Each algorithm includes initial and continued assessment and treatment of risk factors and comorbid conditions, as well as prescription of and adherence to standard therapies at each step. Fe_NO-Hi is characterized by >24 ppb, and Eos-Hi is characterized by 300 cells/μl, although in some cases, ≥150 cells/μl may be sufficient (see text for further details). ACO = asthma–COPD overlap; AG = asthmatic granulomatosis; COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CRP = C-reactive protein; CT = computed tomography; EGPA = eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis; Eos = eosinophils; eval = evaluation; Fe_NO = fraction of exhaled NO; Hi = high; HP = hypersensitivity pneumonitis; HS = Hi-sensitivity; LAMA = long-acting muscarinic antagonist; Lo = low; Neg = negative; OCS = oral corticosteroid; Pos = positive; pred = predicted; T2 = type 2; VATS = video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.