Challenges in the pharmacological treatment of geriatric asthma

2016

ABSTRACTAsthma in older populations is characterized by frequent comorbid conditions, which increase the risk of side effects and of detrimental interactions between respiratory and non-respiratory drugs. These observations lead to the need to manage asthma in older populations by applying a multidimensional assessment and a multidisciplinary treatment; therefore, we favor the use of the ‘geriatric’ term to define asthma in the elderly. Geriatric asthma is a complex disease, which may not necessarily imply that it is also complicated, although the two conditions may often coexist. On this basis, the switch from an organ-driven management to the holistic approach may be the key factor to att…