Current Guidelines in Asthma Treatment
“More than 2.2 million adults and children in Texas have asthma. In 2023, uncontrolled asthma among Texans contributed to more than 109,000 emergency department visits and 8,500 hospitalizations.”
Impact of Asthma in Texas, 2025 Report
Texas Department of State Health Services
Check Your Knowledge
Texas Health Steps providers routinely diagnose and manage asthma in primary care settings. Knowledge of current treatment guidelines helps them select age-appropriate therapy and counsel young patients and their families about risk reduction and safe, effective medications. The following statements address key features of single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART), the recommended approach to managing asthma.
Assess whether each of the following statements about SMART is true or false.
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SMART uses a single combination inhaler for both maintenance treatment and rapid symptom relief.
The combination inhaler used for SMART contains an inhaled corticosteroid and formoterol, a long-acting bronchodilator with a rapid onset of action.
Children and adolescents receiving SMART must use a separate albuterol rescue inhaler for immediate symptom relief.
By delivering an inhaled corticosteroid with each use, SMART reduces the potential risks associated with albuterol use without concurrent anti-inflammatory therapy.
SMART is recommended beginning at age 5 years, and some evidence supports its use in children as young as age 4 years.
SMART is prescribed without consideration of asthma severity or exposure to environmental triggers.
Why it matters
Asthma can be controlled through effective medical management in collaboration with patients and their families. Poorly controlled asthma may cause permanent airway damage, reduce lung function, and diminish the effectiveness of therapy. Early asthma diagnosis and effective treatment are key to preventing asthma morbidity and mortality.
Learn more about asthma risk factors, risk-reduction approaches and recommended treatment and management strategies by taking the free online course Identifying and Treating Children with Asthma.