Clinical and Regulatory Guidelines

This section contains helpful programs and guidelines concerning children's asthma and allergy. These include the most significant recent guidelines published by the top respiratory institutions in the USA. We have also included information on inhaler laws and anti-discrimination laws covering children with disabilities.

AAAAI: Update on Pediatric Asthma: Promoting Best Practice Guidelines

The Update on Pediatric Asthma: Promoting Best Practice Guidelines is a definitive guide for physicians and other health care professionals for identifying and treating asthma in children and adolescents under the age of 18.

The Pediatric Guidelines are the cornerstone of a major national initiative designed to raise the standard of care for all children with asthma. The initiative was undertaken by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), in partnership with the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), and coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Other goals of the initiative include convening at national conferences, encouraging connections between community programs that address issues of asthma, providing blueprints for the development of local asthma coalitions that address issues of asthma management, and delivering best practice information to health care providers and managed care decision makers.

The Pediatric Guidelines are the only set of stand-alone pediatric treatment recommendations endorsed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).

The Pediatric Guidelines are adapted from the NHLBI's 1997 "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma."

Read about the initiative—

Link to: Pediatric Asthma: Promoting Best Practice Guidelines .

Link to: download the Pediatric Asthma: Promoting Best Practice Guidelines.

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AAAAI: The Allergy Report

(Funded through an unrestricted grant from Schering Corporation.)

The Allergy Report is a three-volume document that provides guidance on the clinical management of allergic disorders, examines the barriers to effective care, and addresses future research needs for allergy mechanisms and clinical approaches to treatment.

The Allergy Report is the keystone of a comprehensive initiative entitled Allergic Disorders: Promoting Best Practice sponsored by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and 20 other medical associations, advocacy groups, and government agencies.

The goal of this initiative is to ensure that a broad spectrum of health care providers learns about, understands, and implements clinical and best practice information for diagnosing and managing patients with allergic diseases.

The Allergy Report includes standardized information on the most common allergic diseases and conditions that often have an allergic component, including rhinitis; asthma; atopic dermatitis; rhinosinusitis; chronic or recurrent otitis media; conjunctivitis; urticaria and angioedema; contact dermatitis; and drug, food, insect sting, latex, and anaphylactic and anaphylactoid reactions.

Organized into three volumes, with references grouped by section for ease of use, the report focuses on diagnosis and management as well as clinical recommendations and practical suggestions for specific conditions. The Allergy Report also addresses prevention, barriers to appropriate patient care, and the need for more allergy research.

Link to: download The Allergy Report.

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National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 2: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, and NHLBI Practical Guide for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma

The NHLBI Expert Panel Report #2 contains state-of-the-art clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing and managing asthma.

These guidelines update the 1991 expert panel report and incorporate the most recent scientific information available on the care of patients with asthma.

The guidelines provide information on treating asthma at all severity levels and stress both clinical and self-management strategies.

The NHLBI Expert Panel Report #2 also provides a comprehensive discussion of current medications and their appropriate uses. 146 pages.

Link to: download or order a copy of The NHLBI Expert Panel Report #2

The NHLBI Practical Guide for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma is a set of clinical practice guidelines culled from the NHLBI Expert Panel Report #2: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma.

The Practical Guide is the most recent consensus statement of experts for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma. 86 pages.

For a complete printed copy of the NHLBI Practical Guide for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma:

Contact: National Asthma Education and Prevention Program
NHLBI Information Center
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824-0105
Phone: (301) 251-1222
Fax: (301) 251-1223

Link to: download a portion of the Practical Guide for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma*, 60 pages. NIH Publication No. 97-4053.

Link to: the NAEPP Expert Panel Report: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma - Update on Selected Topics 2002.

Link to: the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program.

*Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view/print this document—free download here.

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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Discrimination against students on the basis of handicap is prohibited in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires that: No qualified handicapped person shall, on the basis of handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity which receives or benefits from Federal financial assistance.

Civil rights laws extend to most educational institutions in the nation. This is because most of them receive some type of federal financial assistance. This means that the civil rights laws cover almost 15,000 school districts.

Civil rights issues addressed under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 include:

- accessibility of school facilities and programs.

- appropriate special education services.

- evaluation and placement of students who may need special education services.

- teaching students in the least restrictive environment consistent with their educational needs.

- suspension and expulsion of students with disabilities.

- academic adjustments and modifications.

Read the full text of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Read a valuable fact sheet from AAFA concerning the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

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