Guidelines Summary The following organizations have issued guidelines for the management of asthma: National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Veteran’s Administration/Department of Defense (VA/DoD) Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Classification Guidelines The 2007 NAEPP guidelines and the 2009 VA/DoD asthma management guidelines use the severity of asthma classification below, with features of asthma severity divided into three charts to reflect classification in different age groups (0-4 y, 5-11 y, and 12 y and older). Classification includes (1) intermittent asthma, (2) mild persistent asthma, (3) moderate persistent asthma, (4) and severe persistent asthma. Intermittent asthma is characterized as follows: Symptoms of cough, wheezing, chest tightness, or difficulty breathing less than twice a week Flare-ups are brief, but intensity may vary Nighttime symptoms less than twice a month No symptoms between flare-ups Lung function test FEV 1 is 80% or more above normal values Peak flow has less than 20% variability am-to-am or am-to-pm, day-to-day Mild persistent asthma is characterized as follows: Symptoms of cough, wheezing, chest tightness, or difficulty breathing 3-6 times a week Flare-ups may affect activity level Nighttime symptoms 3-4 times a month Lung function test FEV 1 is 80% or more above normal values Peak flow has less than 20-30% variability Moderate persistent asthma is characterized as follows: Symptoms of cough, wheezing, chest tightness, or difficulty breathing daily Flare-ups may affect activity level Nighttime symptoms 5 or more times a month Lung function test FEV 1 is above 60% but below 80% of normal values Peak flow has more than 30% variability Severe persistent asthma is characterized as follows: Symptoms of cough, wheezing, chest tightness, or difficulty breathing that are continual Frequent nighttime symptoms Lung function test FEV 1 is 60% or less of normal values Peak flow has more than 30% variability In contrast, the 2016 Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines categorize asthma severity as mild, moderate, or severe. Severity is assessed retrospectively from the level of treatment required to control symptoms and exacerbations, as follows: Mild asthma: Well controlled with as-needed reliever medication alone or with low-intensity controller treatment such as low-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs), leukotriene receptor antagonists, or chromones Moderate asthma: Well controlled with low-dose ICS/long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) Severe asthma: Requires high-dose ICS/LABA to prevent it from becoming uncontrolled, or asthma that remains uncontrolled despite this treatment The 2013 joint European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society (ERS/ATS) guidelines on evaluation and treatment of severe asthma reserves the definition of severe asthma for patients with refractory asthma and those in whom response to treatment of comorbidities is incomplete. The 2016 GINA guidelines stress the importance of distinguishing between severe asthma and uncontrolled asthma, as the latter is a much more common reason for persistent symptoms and exacerbations, and it may be more easily improved. The most common problems that need to be excluded before a diagnosis of severe asthma can be made are the following : Poor inhaler technique Poor medication adherence Incorrect diagnosis of asthma, with symptoms due to alternative conditions such as upper airway dysfunction, cardiac failure, or lack of fitness Comorbidities and complicating conditions such as rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux, obesity, and obstructive sleep apnea Ongoing exposure to sensitizing or irritant agents in the home or work environment. Management Guidelines The goals for successful management of asthma outlined in the 2007 NHLBI publication "Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention" (see the images below) include the following: Achieve and maintain control of asthma symptoms Maintain normal activity levels, including exercise Maintain pulmonary function as close to normal as possible Prevent asthma exacerbations Avoid adverse effects from asthma medications Prevent asthma mortality Stepwise pharmacologic therapy The pharmacologic treatment of asthma is based on stepwise therapy. Asthma medications should be added or deleted as the frequency and severity of the patient's symptoms change. The 2007 NAEPP guidelines offer the recommendations below. Step 1 for intermittent asthma is as follows: Controller medication not indicated Reliever medication is a short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) as needed for symptoms Step 2 for mild persistent asthma is as follows: Preferred controller medication is a low-dose inhaled corticosteroid Alternatives include cromolyn, leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA), or theophylline Step 3 for moderate persistent asthma is as follows: Preferred controller medication is either a low-dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) plus a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) (combination medication preferred choice to improve compliance) or an inhaled medium-dose corticosteroid Alternatives include an low-dose ICS plus either a LTRA or theophylline Step 4 for moderate-to-severe persistent asthma is as follows: Preferred controller medication is an inhaled medium-dose corticosteroid plus a LABA (combination therapy) Alternatives include an inhaled medium-dose corticosteroid plus either an LTRA or theophylline Step 5 for severe persistent asthma is as follows: Preferred controller medication is an inhaled high-dose corticosteroid plus LABA Step 6 for severe persistent asthma is as follows: Preferred controller medication is an inhaled high-dose corticosteroid plus LABA plus oral corticosteroid The 2016 GINA guidelines include the following stepwise recommendations for medication and symptom control : Step 1: As-needed SABA with no controller; other options are to consider low-dose ICS for patients with exacerbation risks Step 2: Regular low-dose ICS plus as-needed SABA; other options are LTRA or theophylline Step 3: Low-dose ICS/LABA plus as-needed SABA or ICS/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy; other options are medium-dose ICS or low-dose ICS/LABA Step 4: Low-dose ICS/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy or medium-dose ICS/LABA as maintenance plus as-needed SABA; add-on tiotropium for patients with history of exacerbations; other options are high-dose ICS/LTRA or slow-release theophylline; refer for expert assessment and advice Step 5: Refer for expert investigation and add-on treatment; add-on treatments include tiotropium by mist inhaler for patients with a history of exacerbations, omalizumab for severe allergic asthma, and mepolizumab for severe eosinophilic asthma; other options are that some patients may benefit from low-dose oral corticosteroids but long-term systemic adverse effects occur The 2013 joint European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society (ERS/ATS) guidelines include the following additional recommendations for treatment of severe asthma : For severe allergic asthma, a therapeutic trial of omalizumab Do not use methotrexate or macrolide antibiotics to treat severe asthma For severe asthma and recurrent exacerbations of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), antifungal agents should be given Do not use antifungal agents for severe asthma without ABPA irrespective of sensitization to fungi (ie, positive skin prick test or fungus-specific immunoglobulin E in serum) Exercise-Induced Asthma Guidelines In 2013, the American Thoracic Society released clinical guidelines for the management of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), which included the following recommendations: Administration of an inhaled SABA before exercise (strong recommendation); the SABA is typically administered 15 minutes before exercise A controller agent is added whenever SABA therapy is used daily or more frequently Interval or combination warm-up exercise before planned exercise (strong recommendation) Recommend against daily use of an inhaled long-acting beta2-agonist as single therapy (strong recommendation) For patients who continue to have symptoms despite using an inhaled SABA before exercise or who require an inhaled SABA daily or more frequently: (1) Daily ICS (strong recommendation), (2) Daily administration of an LTRA (strong recommendation), (3) Administration of a mast cell‒stabilizing agent before exercise (strong recommendation), and (4) Inhaled anticholinergic agent before exercise (weak recommendation) For patients with EIB and allergies who continue to have symptoms despite using an inhaled SABA before exercise or who require an inhaled SABA daily or more frequently consider administration of an antihistamine (weak recommendation) For exercise in cold weather, routine use of a device (eg, mask) that warms and humidifies the air during exercise (weak recommendation) Source
