A New Era for Treating and Preventing Asthma Exacerbations

(The following webinar is presented as a 1-hour video. To watch the webinar as four ~15-minute videos, each .25 credits, please scroll to the bottom of the page.)

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In the United States, asthma is estimated to affect about 4 million children and 21 million adults, making it one of the most prevalent chronic diseases. Beyond high prevalence, asthma is a significant public health issue, one of the top thirty most disabling conditions globally. Patients with uncontrolled asthma are at risk for exacerbations, even if their disease is classified as mild or moderate. Recent data provide a better understanding of the role of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use concurrently with short-acting beta2-agonists (SABAs), and primary care clinicians are key practitioners at the forefront of this paradigm shift. This webinar addresses clinical knowledge gaps that may prove to be barriers to improving outcomes in patients with uncontrolled mild or moderate asthma.

Learning Objectives:
After viewing this webinar, participants should be able to:

• Explain the potential for adverse outcomes of systemic corticosteroid overuse and SABA monotherapy for asthma treatment.
• Describe the benefits of ICS use with a fast-acting bronchodilator to prevent exacerbations in mild or moderate asthma.
• Apply asthma management principles consistent with GINA recommendations for asthma care.
• Discuss prescribing information and clinical evidence of a newly approved, combination, inhaled therapy for prevention and treatment of asthma exacerbations.
  
  

Accreditation
Primary Care Education Consortium is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Other clinicians will receive a Certificate of Participation. Each individual video episode is certified for a maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category One Credit(s)™. The full length enduring activity is designated for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category One Credit(s)™. Physicians and other healthcare professionals should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. CME is available from October 15, 2023, to October 14, 2024. To receive certification, visit the survey link shown below the webinar(s).

Faculty
Njira Lugogo, MD, MS
Dr. Lugogo, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, is the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine's Asthma Program Director at the University of Michigan. Dr. Lugogo completed her Medical Degree at the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. After she completed her Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Duke University, she rose to Assistant Professor. At Duke, Dr. Lugogo served as the Medical Director of the Duke Asthma Allergy and Airway Center and Director of the Asthma Clinical Trails Group and Pulmonary Clinical Research Unit. She joined the University of Michigan Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine faculty in August, 2017.

Dr. Neil Skolnik, MD
Dr. Skolnik is a practicing family physician who teaches residents and medical students at Abington Family Medicine. He is a Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine, and Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Abington Memorial Hospital. He graduated from Emory University School of Medicine and did his residency training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. A frequent author and lecturer, he currently coordinates educational podcasts for the American Diabetes Association, the Infectious Disease Society of America, and Family Practice and Internal Medicine News. He has also worked with large organizations including the CDC, the American Thoracic Society, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Barbara Yawn, MD, MSc FAAFP
Dr. Yawn is a family physician and clinical researcher with 14 years’ experience as a full time rural physician and 25 years as a clinical researcher. She has authored over 350 peer reviewed published manuscripts, 3 books, and numerous book chapters in a variety of topics from rural primary care to chronic respiratory diseases, primarily asthma and COPD. She was a member of the 2007 Expert Review Panel that developed the current asthma care guidelines and the WHO panel that developed the International Primary Care Respiratory guidelines for obstructive lung disease. She has served on 6 other national evidence based guideline panels in addition to the one for asthma, most recently co-chairing the NHLBI Sickle Cell Disease guideline panel.

She developed a research department in a large primary care based medical group in Rochester and SE Minnesota where she led studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for HealthCare Quality and Research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and private foundations. She has recently retired from the position as Director of Research at the Olmsted Medical Center but continues working with other research around the US and is participating in educational work directed to primary care physicians and other clinicians.

Disclosures
Primary Care Education Consortium adheres to the conflict-of-interest policy of the ACCME and the AMA. All individuals in a position to control the content disclose any relationships they may have with commercial companies whose products or services may be mentioned so that participants may evaluate the objectivity of the presentations. In addition, any discussion of off-label, experimental, or investigational use of drugs or devices will be disclosed by the faculty. Only participants who have no conflict of interest or who agree to an identified mitigation process prior to their participation were involved in this CME activity.

Dr. Njira Lugogo discloses that she does research for and serves on advisory boards for Regeneron/Sanofi, Novartis, and Genentech. She does research for Janssen and serves as a consultant for Amgen. In addition, these are the companies for whom she does research, serves on an advisory board, serves as a consultant, and does talks: AstraZeneca, GSK and Teva.

Dr. Neil Skolnik discloses that he receives research support, serves on the advisory board as a consultant and serves as a speaker for: AstraZeneca, Sanofi Pasteur, Bayer, Novo Nordisk and GSK, He receives research support and serves on the advisory board as a consultant for Sanofi Diabetes. He serves on the advisory board as a consultant and as a speaker for Astellas, Lilly, and Boehringer-Ingelheim/Lilly. He serves as a speaker for Teva and Heartland, and as an advisory board member as a consultant for Genentech, Abbott and Idorsia.

Dr. Barbara Yawn discloses that she serves as a consultant and on the advisory board for GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva, AstraZeneca. She serves as a consultant for Regeneron.

Austin Ulrich, PharmD, editorial support, and Dr. Michael Hanak, CME reviewer, have no disclosures to report.

All conflicts of interest have been mitigated.

Sponsorship
This activity is sponsored by the Primary Care Education Consortium and the Primary Care Respiratory Group. 

Supporter
This activity is supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.

Acknowledgement
The authors received writing/editorial support in the preparation of video and manuscript content from Austin Ulrich, PharmD, of Primary Care Education Consortium. The content for this webinar was produced according to the policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

For those who prefer to watch the presentation in four parts:

Part 1: Asthma Management for PCCs

Click here to take the post-presentation survey to earn your .25 credit for Part 1.

Part 2: Navigating Patient Access and Costs of Asthma Care

Click here to take the post-presentation survey to earn your .25 credit for Part 2.

Part 3: New FDA-Approved Options for Mild to Moderate Asthma Care

Part 4: Comprehensive Case Studies in Asthma Care

Click here to take the post-presentation survey to earn your .25 credit for Part 4.