How should the medication regimen be adjusted for a 22-year-old woman experiencing an acute asthma flare while using fluticasone and albuterol?

The choice to prescribe a short course of oral prednisone for 5 days is appropriate during an acute asthma flare because systemic corticosteroids like prednisone are highly effective in reducing inflammation and improving respiratory function. In an acute exacerbation, inflammation in the airways can significantly hinder airflow and contribute to the severity of symptoms. While fluticasone, an inhaled corticosteroid, provides ongoing control of asthma by reducing inflammation over the long term, it may not act quickly enough to provide relief during an acute flare.

Oral prednisone acts rapidly to decrease airway inflammation and is typically utilized for short-term management of exacerbations. It can effectively restore control over symptoms when a patient is experiencing a significant flare-up that does not respond sufficiently to the usual rescue inhaler (albuterol) or their base steroid regimen.

Adjustments to fluticasone dosage or switching to another inhaled corticosteroid are not the first-line responses during an acute situation because these measures typically require more time to take effect. Similarly, while increasing the use of albuterol may provide temporary relief, it does not address the underlying inflammation and could lead to over-reliance on a bronchodilator rather than effectively correcting the acute situation. Thus, the use of oral prednisone is the most effective and