ASTHMA MANAGEMENT IN 2025: STEPWISE STRATEGIES, PHENOTYPES, AND PHARMACOLOGIC UPDATES

Objectives

• Differentiate between different types of asthma.
• Classify patients into different phenotypes (e.g., allergic, eosinophilic, AERD [aspirin-exacerbated asthma], neutrophilic, and paucigranulocytic) based on clinical manifestations and biomarkers.
• Interpret key biomarkers (blood eosinophils, FeNO [fractional exhaled nitric oxide], IgE) to determine the phenotype of type 2 inflammation in the patient.
• Integrate phenotype/endotype information to choose the optimal pharmacological strategy (e.g., ICS intensity, add LAMA, or consider biologics).
• Establish an evidence-based treatment plan for suspected non-type 2 asthma cases.
• Differentiate between the different medications available for asthma management, particularly maintenance (“controller”) and rescue (“reliever”) medications and their roles within guideline-directed therapy, according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
• Learning Objectives (Pharmacy Technicians): At the completion of this activity, the participant will be able to: Identify the main asthma phenotypes and the common tests used to evaluate them (CBC with differential, FeNO, IgE).
• Recognize the main classes of medications used in asthma management, including inhaled corticosteroids, combination therapies, leukotriene modifiers, and biologic agents.
• Differentiate between maintenance (“controller”) and rescue (“reliever”) medications and their roles within guideline-directed therapy, according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
• Identify the pharmaceutical forms and routes of administration used in asthma pharmacotherapy.
• Identify signs in the documentation (history of allergies, reactions to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], frequent courses of oral corticosteroids, emergency room visits) that may indicate a specific phenotype/endotype or uncontrolled asthma.
• Assist the pharmacist by pointing out abnormal biomarker results.

Activity Number

0151-0000-25-036-H01-P/T

CE Hours