7-NATIONAL-ASTHMA-EDUCATION-AND-PREVENTION-PROGRAM GUIDELINES - A PRACTICAL SUMMARY FOR EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS

Numerous clinical guidelines have been promoted to help improve the ma nagement of acute injury and illness. In November 1997, the National A sthma Education and prevention Program released the final version of i ts comprehensive second Expert Panel Report, designed to distill scien tific advances in asthma care and provide a set of practical tools to help guide clinician and patient decisions. The panel's recommendation s for acute asthma care stress the use of objective measures of pulmon ary function to assess severity, aggressive inhaled beta(2)-agonist th erapy, early corticosteroid administration, and early disposition deci sions. This article provides a focused overview of the 146-page docume nt and high-lights aspects of the new guidelines of particular importa nce to emergency physicians.