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Breath Takes: Fall/Winter 1998

Fall/Winter, 1998
Vol. 5, No. 2
ASTHMA & ANNUAL REPORT ISSUE

This is a portion of the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County's 1998 Breath Takes. ?If you would like to receive a complete copy, please call the American Lung Association at
or (800) LUNG-USA.


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Michael Arlen
On September 21, Governor Wilson signed Senate Bill 1663 into law, allowing staff members at child care centers and family day care homes to provide nebulizer treatments to children with asthma. Its being signed into law represents a growing awareness of a disease that is affecting more and more people each day.

Each year, the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County reaches out to hundreds of people in the community to help them better understand and manage their asthma. And, we have taken a leading role in the dissemination of badly needed asthma education to the medical profession.

Last year, the NIH (National Institutes of Health) propounded a new set of Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Since then, the FDA has approved several new drugs. Many emergency physicians and medical doctors engaged in family practice are not up-to-date with the newest drugs and medical procedures. The NIH guidelines, though only a year old, need updating. They also need to be more widely distributed so that they can become the standard of care.

A consortium of our volunteers have created a pocket reference of updated asthma guidelines to be distributed to pharmaceutical firms, teaching institutions, hospitals and emergency centers. The guidelines contain pertinent information regarding the drugs, dosages, delivery systems and contraindications for adults and children. In less than 15 minutes, a physician can scan this pocket reference and boost his or her competence on the latest guidelines and procedures.

The pocket references are also being used as an artifice to contact major medical providers in Los Angeles and explore the possibility of developing new programs and partnerships. As asthma emergencies account for 1/3 of the pediatric visits to Los Angeles emergency rooms, there's a real interest to educate medical staff on new treatments and management. HMOs, in particular, have a vested interest to enlighten their medical staff, as they realize that this will ultimately reduce the number of return visits from asthma "frequent flyers" in their ER.

To find out more about our updated asthma guidelines,
look for the JAMA's asthma guidelines link on our web site's home page, lalung.org
or contact Johanna Goldberg at , or 1-800-LUNG-USA, ext. 227.


(Updated 12/14/98)


When You Can't Breathe, Nothing Else Matters ?
The mission of the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County
is to prevent and eliminate lung disease
and to improve the quality of life and health of those with lung disease.
Your contributions to Christmas Seals? and Chanukah Seals? help make the difference.

For more information on lung health, programs, and special events,
call ? ? (or ? ; ? ; ?1-800-LUNG-USA), ? or send us email.
? 1999 American Lung Association of Los Angeles County

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