Asthma in Pregnant Women: Guideline update

Updated federal guidelines on managing asthma in pregnant women, including information on new medications and safety, are available from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

According to the MedPage I downloaded from Epocrates, these are the first new guidelines in more than a decade from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Key recommendations include:

• Albuterol should be used as a quick-relief medication to treat asthma symptoms, and pregnant women with asthma should have this medication available at all times.
• Pregnant women with persistent asthma need daily medication, preferably inhaled corticosteroids. Alternative daily medications are leukotriene receptor antagonists, cromolyn, or theophylline.
• For severe asthma, oral corticosteroids may be needed. The safety of oral corticosteroids in pregnant women is still unclear, but severe, uncontrolled asthma is associated with increased maternal and fetal mortality.
• Pregnant women with persistent asthma should have their asthma monitored monthly.

The full report (as well as a quick guide and evidence tables) can be found on the National Heart Blood Lung Institute website.