Sideline management of asthma.

The timely, efficient, and effective sideline management of asthma must be based on an understanding of the disease processes, awareness of evidence-based therapeutic intervention, and thorough knowledge of the individual athlete's past and present medical history. There is accumulating evidence that exercise-induced airway narrowing, if unrecognized or inadequately treated, can progress to a severe life-threatening status and should always be viewed as a potential medical emergency. A widening range of therapeutic measures is currently available to prevent and treat exercise asthma, and treatment must be tailored to the individual circumstances in order to optimize response.