Updated NIH Guidelines Offer Valuable Information on Asthma Diagnosis and ...( Findings Validate Importance of A...)

Findings Validate Importance of Allergy Testing in Managing Chronic

Condition

PORTAGE, Mich., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Phadia US Inc. announced today that The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) has issued an update on selected topics in the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Information in the guidelines reported that allergies have emerged as one of the most important factors in the development, persistence and potential severity of asthma and that allergy testing is necessary to educate patients about allergen avoidance and symptom control.

"The role of allergy testing in asthma management is important information for patients, particularly because many asthmatics are not aware that a simple blood test can be conducted to identify what is triggering an asthma attack," said Dean Mitchell, MD, leading allergist and author of Dr. Dean Mitchell's Allergy and Asthma Solution. "Allergy diagnostic testing using a specific IgE blood test is a safe and accurate method to identify triggers early on and effectively manage patients."

The Guidelines were developed by an expert panel commissioned by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program and coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health to ensure that the asthma guidelines reflect the latest scientific advances in this area. The guidelines were first published in 1991 and revised in 1997 and 2002. These latest parameters highlight the importance of keeping asthma under control through four critical components of asthma care, including: assessment and monitoring, patient education, control of environmental factors contributing to asthma severity, and pharmacologic therapy.

"As the presence of allergens increases this fall allergy season, it will be critical for patients to understand what their allergic triggers are and how to avoid those allergens,"
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