Physician assistants, nurse practitioners evolve with asthma, allergy care

Key takeaways:

• The APA-AAI 15th Annual CME Conference is taking place in Park City, Utah, from July 28 to 30.
• In his keynote, Andrew Liu, MD, discusses the past, present and future of allergic airway disease.

PARK CITY, Utah — As asthma and allergy treatment evolves, physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners will work together to ensure effective care, according to Andrew Liu, MD, FAAAAI, of Children’s Hospital Colorado.

Liu, who is director of the hospital’s Airway Inflammation, Resilience & the Environment Program, discussed “Allergic Airway Disease: Past, Present & Future” in his keynote at the Association of PAs in Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 15th Annual CME Conference in Park City, Utah.

“Why do we care about the past? I don’t think of myself as a historian, but I have a bit of an obsession with understanding asthma — allergic airways disease being a big part of this,” Liu told Healio.

“I’ve seen how key discoveries of the past become foundational pillars of understanding upon which our best practices of care of our patients today can be built, and future advancement can be pursued,” he continued. “Key discoveries have a way of bringing clarity and advancement where there was uncertainty.”

Anti-inflammatory treatment characterized care in the past and continues in the present, Liu said. Looking ahead, he expects personalized evaluation with improved treatments, prevention and cure will be essential.

“Some of the tools of this advancement? Molecular scientific revolution, wearable information-collecting devices and big data analytics,” he said.

The roles of physician assistants and nurse practitioners have changed with these transformations too, Liu said.

“Physician assistants and nurse practitioners can do anything I do better,” he said. “We are practicing, learning and evolving together.”

Liu also will lead a second session during the conference, discussing “Asthma, Does Allergy Matter,” which he called an important topic for providers.

“Allergy can drive asthma severity, persistence and exacerbation,” Liu said. “Allergy’s role is often misunderstood or mismanaged. And often, our patients and caregivers want good guidance. The good thing is we have the tools and understanding to help.”

Allergy can cause airway inflammation, obstruction and hyperresponsiveness, which are all of asthma’s hallmark features, in people with asthma, Liu said.

“But what about respiratory viruses that trigger asthma exacerbations?” he asked. “Importantly, allergy can affect antiviral immunity to common cold viruses, underlying severe exacerbations.”

Because allergic inflammation responds well to some treatments, Liu said, understanding allergy can help personalize patient care.

“Today, we are in a wave of interest in personalizing care for better outcomes,” he said. “Evaluating and managing allergies is a clear way we can tailor and personalize care for our patients, bring expertise and normalize their lives with asthma.”

Again, Liu cited the importance of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in providing this care.

“They can do it all better than me, including in our cutting-edge research,” he said. “We’ve always been together in providing the best asthma and allergy specialty care and advancing our care in our research.”

These professionals provide practices that specialize in allergy and asthma with a host of benefits, Liu said, such as extending the impact of the high-quality care that those practices provide in their communities to patients with allergy and asthma.

“This is my experience and what has happened where I’ve worked,” Liu said. “As practicing experts, same as any doctors, it’s essential that physician assistants and nurse practitioners keep up with the latest in care and be able to sort out what will have the biggest benefit for their patients.”

Further, Liu reminds his fellow providers that physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners are equals and that these professionals will be more and more important in caring for patients in the years ahead as their responsibilities evolve.

“Value our dear colleagues greatly,” he advised.

Reference:

• Liu A. Allergic Airway Disease: Past, Present & Future. Presented at: Association of PAs in Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Allergy, Asthma & Immunology CME Conference; Park City, Utah; July 28-30, 2023.

For more information:

Andrew Liu, MD, FAAAAI, can be reached at andrew.liu@childrenscolorado.org.