Bottom line
EIB is an acute, reversible airway narrowing that occurs during or after strenuous exercise. A high percentage of physically active patients have EIB, regardless of whether they have underlying asthma conditions. Administration of an inhaled SABA 15 minutes prior to exercise and a variety of warm-up exercises act as a first-line treatment, with an inhaled corticosteroid or a leukotriene receptor antagonist effective for those who do not respond to the SABA alone.
Reference
J. P. Parsons et al. "An Official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline: Exercise-induced Bronchoconstriction," Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2013;187:1016-27.
Dr. Skolnik is associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital and professor of family and community medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia. Dr. Beddis is an attending physician in the Abington Health Network at Wyncote Family Medicine.