Effectiveness of NHLBI Guide on Childhood Asthma Outcome. Abstract and Executive Summary of Conference

摘要

In 1997 the national Asthma Education Program consensus panel, organized by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) revised the guidelines for the care and management of children and adults with asthma. The impact of these guidelines on asthma care in the U.S. is unclear since hospitalization rates and mortality continue to rise. We hypothesized that the use of clinical practice guidelines can enhance the quality of asthma care as defined by a reduction in 7 day relapse rate, and functional outcome using the Child Health Questionnaire. We proposed to evaluate the efficacy of a program designed to adhere to the NHLBI guidelines on asthma management in an emergency department (E.D.) for an asthma exacerbation. This study provides an understanding of the health status of children with asthma and addresses whether or not the alternative O.U. care provide similar outcomes to the traditional inpatient hospitalization.