Asthma Classification Guidelines

The 2007 National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 3 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma uses the severity of asthma.  Classification of asthma severity is divided into three charts to reflect classification in different age groups (0-4 y, 5-11 y, and 12 y and older). Classification includes: intermittent asthma, mild persistent asthma, moderate persistent asthma, and severe persistent asthma. 

New Updates to Federal Guidelines on Asthma Management 2020

The National Institutes of Health announced 19 recommendations in six key areas of asthma diagnosis, management and treatment. The new guidance, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The six areas are:

• Using inhaled corticosteroids when needed for recurrent wheezing or persistent asthma.
• Using long-acting antimuscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) with inhaled corticosteroids for long-term asthma management. A LAMA is a bronchodilator, a medicine that helps to keep airway muscles relaxed. 
• Using allergy shotsthat contain very small amounts of allergen to treat some people with allergic asthma.
• Using one or more methods to reduce exposure to indoor asthma triggers.
• Using a fractional exhaled nitric oxide test to help manage asthma or help confirm a diagnosis in some patients when the diagnosis is unclear. This test involves breathing into a tube connected to a machine that measures the amount of nitric oxide, which can increase when there is airway inflammation.
• Using bronchial thermoplasty to treat selected adults with persistent asthma. During this procedure heat is used to reduce the muscle around the airways.

 https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2020/new-updates-federal-guidelines-revamp-asthma-management 

Is Your Asthma Under Control? (Asthma Control Test)