The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced recommendations in six key areas of asthma diagnosis, management and treatment, according to a press release.
The new guidance, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, represents the first updates to federal comprehensive asthma management and treatment guidelines in more than a decade, and focuses on tailored treatment interventions for specific age groups based on disease severity using inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting antimuscarinic antagonists, immunotherapy, indoor allergen mitigation, fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing, and bronchial thermoplasty.
The recommendations are based on systematic reviews conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and input from National Asthma Education Prevention Program (NAEPP) participant organizations, medical experts, and the public.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH, coordinates the NAEPP Coordinating Committee (NAEPPCC) and the 19-member expert panel working group which developed the 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines: A Report from The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Working Group.
"NHLBI's goal is to ensure that care for all individuals living with asthma is optimal, equitable, and based on the best available evidence," said NHLBI Director Gary H. Gibbons, MD. "These updates to the guidelines are intended to support informed, shared decision-making between patients and their providers, so that people living with this chronic condition can lead full and active lives."
The focused updates provide new guidance for six areas:
· Using inhaled corticosteroids when needed for recurrent wheezing or persistent asthma.
· Using long-acting antimuscarinic antagonists with inhaled corticosteroids for long-term asthma management. A LAMA is a bronchodilator, a medicine that helps to keep airway muscles relaxed
· Using allergy shots that contain very small amounts of allergen to treat some people with allergic asthma.
· Using one or more methods to reduce exposure to indoor asthma triggers
· Using a fractional exhaled nitric oxide test to help manage asthma or help confirm a diagnosis in some patients when the diagnosis is unclear. This test involves breathing into a tube connected to a machine that measures the amount of nitric oxide, which can increase when there is airway inflammation.
· Using bronchial to treat selected adults with persistent asthma. During this procedure heat is used to reduce the muscle around the airways.
