NICE issues new recommendations for asthma care

For better diagnosis and management of asthma, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK has recommended new tests.

The recommended objective tests, including spirometry and FeNO, are expected to aid in confirming the diagnosis, leading to accurate detection and effective treatment of the condition.

Spirometry tests monitor the amount of inhaled and exhaled air to assess the condition of lungs, while FeNO tests measure nitric oxide levels in the breath and elevated levels are associated with lung inflammation and asthma.

The positive experience from NICE’s primary care pilot sites that trialled FeNO techniques would help in opening diagnostic hubs for efficient and affordable testing.

NICE further recommends that patients with poorly controlled asthma should be given a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) tablet with a preventer inhaler before proceeding to more expensive treatments.