Clinical Guidelines And Primary Care Guidelines For The Diagnosis And Management Of Asthma

Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma were produced by the Expert Panel on the Management of Asthma convened by the National Asthma Education Program under the auspices of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The full report (PHS publication no. 91-3042) and executive summary (pHS publication no. 91-3042A) were released in August and June of 1991, respectively, and mailed directly to family physicians and other practitioners under sponsorship of several pharmaceutical firms whose products are often used in treatment of asthma. Additionally, special issues of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunowgy and Pediatric Allergy reprinted the entire report for their subscribers. In the Foreword to the report, Claude Lenfant, M.D., Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, presents the charge of the panel: "To develop guidelines to improve the detection and treatment of asthma. " He goes on to state that the guidelines " ... are likely to have a profound effect on the way asthma is treated." Dr. Albert Sheffer, chair of the expert panel, states in the Preface his hope that with use of these guidelines, "Patients with asthma can expect to control their symptoms, prevent most acute asthma exacerbations, maintain the activity levels they desire, and attain near normal lung function." Clinicians caring for patients with asthma are the intended audience for the guidelines. Dr. Lenfant comments in the Foreword that the report is designed to provide clinicians with new insights into asthma management, but whether