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The 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines are designed to improve the care of people living with asthma and also help primary care providers and specialists make informed decisions about asthma management.
These guidelines are based on the best available scientific evidence in selected topics and can be used by health care providers to develop appropriate treatment plans with their patients. Health care providers nationwide can use the information to deliver the best possible care to everyone living with asthma.
People with asthma can work with their health care providers to develop a comprehensive prevention and treatment plan based on these guidelines that includes:
NHLBI's first set of asthma guidelines, published in 1991, was last updated in 2007. Since then, researchers have made much progress in understanding the origins of asthma and how the disease evolves over time. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several new asthma treatments.
The new guidelines help health care providers and people with asthma work together to develop a comprehensive management plan based on the most promising, evidence-based treatment options available.
No. The 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines addresses health questions in six important areas. Other important aspects of care—such as asthma education and tools to assess asthma control and patient compliance—are not covered. These guidelines are meant to assist, not replace, the clinical decision-making required to meet individual patient needs.
The 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines cover six priority topics in asthma care:
If inhaled corticosteroids alone do not control asthma, a health care provider may add a long-acting bronchodilator such as a long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA) or a LAMA.
Immunotherapy is an asthma management strategy in which people with allergies are exposed to low doses of an allergen.
FeNO tests measure the amount of nitric oxide, a byproduct of inflammation, in the air you breathe out.
Bronchial thermoplasty is an FDA-approved medical procedure that treats severe, persistent asthma. It uses heat to reduce the smooth muscle around the airways that tighten during asthma attacks and makes it hard to breathe.