Dear colleagues:
Within the next week, you will receive your copy of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Expert Panel Report 3, Summary Report 2007.This user-friendly summary is published as a supplement to AAAAI’s Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI).
The long-awaited 2007 guidelines will support the efforts of clinicians providing patient care to the estimated 22 million Americans with asthma, and the AAAAI takes pride in the role many of our members played in development of this report. Four of the 18 member panel are past presidents: William Busse, MD, FAAAAI; Michael Schatz, MD, FAAAAI; Thomas Platts-Mills, MD, FAAAAI; and the late Gail Shapiro, MD, FAAAAI. Two panel members are past board leaders: Harold Nelson, MD, FAAAAI and Robert Lemanske, MD, FAAAAI; and Stanley Szefler, MD, FAAAAI is deputy editor for the JACI.
Great advancements have been made in research and improved scientific understanding of asthma since the guidelines were most recently updated in 2002. The emphasis of the latest guidelines is control rather than severity. Recommendations for managing asthma include an expanded section on childhood asthma with addition of an age group 5 to 11 years old. The guidelines provide new recommendations on patient education, and updated advice on controlling environmental triggers that can cause asthma symptoms. A new section addresses the need for clinician education programs to improve communication with patients, as well as using system-wide approaches to integrate the guidelines into health care practices. In this regard, Asthma_IQ will be especially useful. Also included are modifications in the stepwise approach to managing asthma long-term, including the use of allergen immunotherapy, and modifications to treatment strategies for managing asthma exacerbations.
The AAAAI is pleased to publish this landmark summary report highlighting key recommendations in our Journal. We hope you find it an asset to your commitment of providing optimal patient care.
Sincerely,
Thomas B. Casale, MD, FAAAAI
AAAAI President
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