Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (Summary Report): National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 3

The National Institutes of Health Publication 08-5846 The Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR—3) Summary Report 2007: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma was developed by an expert panel commissioned by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Coordinating Committee (CC), coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. Using the 1997 EPR—2 guidelines and the 2002 update on selected topics as the framework, the expert panel organized the literature review and updated recommendations for managing asthma long term and for managing exacerbations around four essential components of asthma care, namely: assessment and monitoring, patient education, control of factors contributing to asthma severity, and pharmacologic treatment. Subtopics were developed for each of these four broad categories. More than 22 million Americans have asthma, and it is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood, affecting an estimated 6 million children. The burden of asthma affects the patients, their families, and society in terms of lost work and school, lessened quality of life, and avoidable emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Improved scientific understanding of asthma has led to significant improvements in asthma care, and the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) has been dedicated to translating these research findings into clinical practice through publication and dissemination of clinical practice guidelines. The first NAEPP guidelines were published in 1991, and updates were made in 1997, 2002, and now with the current report. Important gains have been made in reducing morbidity and mortality rates due to asthma; however, challenges remain. The NAEPP hopes that the “Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma—Full Report 2007” (EPR—3: Full Report 2007) will support the efforts of those who already incorporate best practices and will help enlist even greater numbers of primary care clinicians, asthma specialists, health care systems and providers, and communities to join together in making quality asthma care available to all people who have asthma. The goal, simply stated, is to help people with asthma control their asthma so that they can be active all day and sleep well at night.~