An overview of EPR3 asthma guidelines: what's different?

Updated asthma care guidelines have recently been released. This review will focus on several elements in the Expert Panel Report (EPR) 3 guidelines that reflect substantial differences compared with recommendations of the EPR2 guidelines, issued in 1997 and updated in 2002. A major difference is the emphasis on asthma control. The revised paradigm for asthma management now recommends that asthma management decisions should be initially based on categorization of asthma severity, and subsequently on assessment of asthma control. Asthma control can be assessed serially by use of validated instruments. The goal of asthma therapy is to achieve asthma control by reducing current impairment and future risk. Recommendations for asthma pharmacotherapy have also been revised since release of updated EPR2 guidelines. The revisions in asthma management proposed in these guidelines offer the potential for improved normative care outcomes in asthmatic patients in the United States.