NIH Asthma Guidelines Will Leave Sufferers Breathing Easier T...( Guidelines Emphasize Importance of...),Health

Guidelines Emphasize Importance of Allergy Testing to Control Chronic

Condition

PORTAGE, Mich., March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Allergy and asthma specialists from around the country will gather this week to begin implementing The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's (NAEPP) Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. These guidelines are intended to improve care for the millions of Americans that suffer from this chronic condition. 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.

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