American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certification Practice Exam

Which symptom indicates mild persistent asthma?

1. Symptoms occurring daily

2. Symptoms more than 2 days per week

3. Symptoms only occurring at night

4. Symptoms not interfering with normal activities

The correct answer is: Symptoms more than 2 days per week

Mild persistent asthma is characterized by symptoms that occur more than two days per week but not daily, and when symptoms do occur, they do not typically interfere with normal activities. The presence of symptoms more than two days a week indicates that asthma is not well controlled but is manageable and does not consistently disrupt everyday life. In this context, symptoms occurring daily would suggest a higher severity of asthma, potentially categorizing it as moderate persistent asthma rather than mild. Symptoms that occur only at night may suggest nocturnal asthma but do not meet the criteria for persistent daytime symptoms needed for classification. Lastly, symptoms not interfering with normal activities align more closely with mild intermittent asthma, where symptoms may appear less frequently and not disrupt functioning. The key factor is the frequency of symptoms, placing it squarely within the category of mild persistent asthma when they occur more than two days a week.