The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute?s National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) has released new national asthma guidelines ? the first major update in a decade. The guidelines emphasize doctor-patient partnerships and ongoing monitoring and management of the disease.
Among the guidelines ?
? All asthma sufferers should be monitored by a doctor every one to six months, regardless of the severity of their condition.
? Patients should have written action plans for daily treatment and worsening symptoms, which are developed by doctors or nurses, with input from the patients, and shared with all the people who interact with the patients, such as family members, teachers, and coaches.
? Care should include education that takes a patient?s cultural background and literacy level into account.
? Patients should play an active role in managing the disease.
? Treatment based on severity should be classified into six steps, rather than the four steps in previous guidelines.
? Medication should be increased when symptoms worsen or decreased, if possible, when asthma is under control.
The guidelines are available online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov under the Clinical Practice Guidelines tab.
