The Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR 3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma was developed by an expert panel commissioned by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Coordinating Committee (CC), coordinated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

Using the 1997 EPR 2 guidelines and the 2004 update of EPR 2 as the framework, the expert panel organized the literature review and final guidelines report around four essential components of asthma care, namely: assessment and monitoring, patient education, control of factors contributing to asthma severity, and pharmacologic treatment. Subtopics were developed for each of these four broad categories.

The 2007 EPR 3 guidelines have been developed under the leadership of Dr. William Busse, Panel Chair. The NHLBI sincerely appreciates the work of Dr. Busse and all the members of the expert panel as well as an expert consultant group in developing this report. Sincere appreciation is also extended to the NAEPP CC and the Guidelines Implementation Panel as well as other stakeholder groups (professional societies, voluntary health, government, consumer/patient advocacy organizations, and industry) for their invaluable comments during the public review period that helped to enhance the scientific credibility and practical utility of this document.

Ultimately, the broad change in clinical practice depends on the influence of local primary care physicians and other health professionals who not only provide state-of-the-art care to their patients, but also communicate to their peers the importance of doing the same. The NHLBI and its partners will forge new initiatives based on these guidelines to stimulate adoption of the recommendations at all levels, but particularly with primary care clinicians at the community level. We ask for the assistance of every reader in reaching our ultimate goal: improving asthma care and the quality of life for every asthma patient with asthma.

Gregory Morosco, Ph.D., M.P.H., Director, Division for the Application of Research Discoveries, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

James Kiley, Ph.D., Director, Division of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute