Pulmonary Disease

Answer 3 Refill her prescriptions, prescribe prednisone 40 mg daily for 7 days, and schedule a follow-up appointment in 1 week. Patients with acute exacerbations who are able to improve their peak flow above 70% of predicted after 3 doses of a nebulized bronchodilator can generally be managed as outpatients. In adults, 40 to 60 mg of prednisone for 5 to 10 days without a taper is recommended by the NIH guidelines.1 Antibiotics are not indicated for exacerbations of asthma, unless a specific infection is identified. REFERENCE 1.  National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 2: Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. Bethesda (MD): National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; 1998. NIH Publication No. 98-4051. Click here to return to the questions

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