Health Professional News

NZ Asthma Guidelines now available

Earlier in June, the much-awaited New Zealand Adolescent and Adult Asthma Guidelines were published in the New Zealand Medical Journal on 26 June 2020 signalling the biggest change to asthma management in New Zealand for 30 years.

The Guidelines provide recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of asthma in adults and adolescents aged 12 and above, and were developed by Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ alongside a multidisciplinary group of respiratory health experts led by Professor Richard Beasley, Chair of the Guidelines group, member of ARFNZ’s Scientific Advisory Board, and Director of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand.

The recommendations are based on recent advances in knowledge, while also addressing asthma management’s greatest challenges: patient education, follow-up, compliance, and selfmanagement.

The major change is the recommendation to use a single 2-in-1 inhaler, containing both a preventer and a reliever medicine, to treat asthma symptoms. This is based on clinical trials, which showed that a budesonide/formoterol inhaler, taken as needed, reduces the risk of a severe asthma attack by between 30 and 60% compared to usual reliever inhalers.

Professor Beasley recommends that recalling patients who just use a blue reliever inhaler and replacing it with a combination inhaler should be the immediate priority for health professionals in New Zealand.

The development of New Zealand’s first COPD guidelines are also underway, led by Professor Bob Hancox from the University of Otago. These Guidelines will provide evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis, assessment, and management of COPD in New Zealand. The COPD Guidelines are due to be published in the New Zealand Medical Journal later this year.

All of these guidelines align the latest research with specific New Zealand context, and will be used for patient self-management plans, as well as training courses and tools for health professionals.

Summaries of the Child Asthma Guidelines, and Adolescent and Adult Asthma Guidelines are now available for health professionals in the ‘NZ Asthma Guidelines Quick Reference Guide’. The COPD Guideline summary will be available once the COPD guidelines are published.

The full Guidelines, Quick Reference Guide, and updated Asthma Action Plans are all available to order for free (some postage costs apply) or to download at: www.nzrespiratoryguidelines.co.nz.