USA's NIH updated asthma treatment guidelines welcomed by industry

The USA's National Institutes of Health, through the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, has issued the first comprehensive update in a decade of clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. These suggest new approaches for monitoring control of the disease and expanded recommendations for children, and have been welcomed by makers of asthma drugs and diagnostics.

Coordinated by the NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the NAEPP convenes an expert panel when there is sufficient science to warrant a rigorous, systematic review of the published medical literature to ensure that the asthma guidelines reflect the latest scientific advances, resulting in the Expert Panel Report (EPR-3).

This noted that the key features and changes to the four components of asthma care include: