{"id":1694,"date":"2014-09-16T14:08:50","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T19:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mw-allergy.com\/?p=509"},"modified":"2014-09-16T14:08:50","modified_gmt":"2014-09-16T19:08:50","slug":"referral-guidelines-for-allergy-asthma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/referral-guidelines-for-allergy-asthma\/","title":{"rendered":"Referral Guidelines for Allergy & Asthma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reminder of referral guidelines for allergy, asthma patients<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fall is allergy season. Philip Halverson, MD, Allergy and Asthma Specialists, says, \u201cThere is an under-appreciation of the morbidity of allergic rhinitis and its impact on quality of life. This disease doesn\u2019t get the respect it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referral guidelines developed by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) range from allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis to urticaria\/angioedema and include allergies to drugs, foods and even insects.<\/p>\n

According to the AAAAI, allergists offer allergy and asthma services not usually available in primary care, including:<\/p>\n

  • Bronchoprovocation testing <\/li>\n
  • Inhalant immunotherapy<\/li>\n
  • Immunomodulator therapy<\/li>\n
  • Venom immunotherapy<\/li>\n
  • Drug desensitization<\/li>\n
  • Evaluation of immune competence<\/li>\n

    Specialists also can help manage chronic conditions where allergy is not always identified, such as rhinosinusitis, conjunctivitis, asthma, cough, urticaria\/ angioedema, eczema and anaphylaxis.<\/p>\n

    Primary care physicians have referred to specialists for years, often using their own guidelines, according to David Brockway, MD, Richfield Medical Group. \u201cIf someone with respiratory issues doesn\u2019t respond to antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays or a non-steroid leukotriene inhibitor like Singulair\u00ae, I will refer to a specialist,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    Cherie Zachary, MD, Midwest ENT Specialists, recommends that primary care providers refer when the patient experiences one or more urgent care or emergency visits for asthma or is hospitalized. She also wants to see patients who take moderate to high doses of inhaled steroids or oral prednisone more than once a year. <\/p>\n

    \u201cThey are candidates for evaluation,\u201d Zachary says, \u201cespecially pediatric patients because prednisone and inhaled corticosteroids can cause adverse growth effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cMedical literature is clear when it comes to the treatment of patients with asthma,\u201d Zachary adds. \u201cAllergists are more cost-effective because patients end up in the hospital less frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Halverson says the time to refer an asthma patient is when he or she has moderate to severe or persistent asthma requiring ongoing therapy with a controller. \u201cWe can determine whether a chronic cough is actually asthma or perhaps post-nasal drainage or reflux, each of which is treated differently,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    Mee Lee Nelson, MD, an allergy and asthma specialist with Southdale Pediatric Associates, encourages primary care physicians to seek a board-certified allergist for patients with difficult-to-treat allergies or asthma. <\/p>\n

    \u201cPatients who have had chronic hives, with or without angioedema, for six weeks or more should also probably see an allergy specialist,\u201d adds Halverson. <\/p>\n

    Nelson says, \u201cFood-related allergies should always be treated by a specialist. We know how to interpret blood test results, which can sometimes produce false positives. We also know that patients sometimes outgrow food allergies and can resume eating troublesome foods after a period of time.\u201d <\/p>\n

    For more information on referral guidelines for patients with allergies or asthma, visit Fairview Physician Associate\u2019s specialty referral guide, or go to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology website at www.aaaai.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Reminder of referral guidelines for allergy, asthma patients Fall is allergy season. Philip Halverson, MD, Allergy and Asthma Specialists, says, \u201cThere is an under-appreciation of the morbidity of allergic rhinitis and its impact on quality of life. This disease doesn\u2019t get the respect it deserves.\u201d Referral guidelines developed by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1694"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1694\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mwent.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}