JAMA Asthma Information Center - Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma Control of Factors Contributing to Asthma Severity Table of Contents Box 2. Increased symptoms during vacuuming or bed making and decreased symptoms when away from home on a business trip or vacation are suggestive but not sufficient. That is why patients should only be tested for sensitivity to the allergens to which they are exposed and why the third step in evaluating patients for allergen sensitivity calls for assessing the clinical relevance of the sensitivity. The recommendation to do skin or in vitro tests for patients with persistent asthma exposed to perennial indoor allergens will result in a limited number of allergy tests for about half of all asthma patients. This is based on the prevalence of persistent asthma and the level of exposure to indoor allergens.
Cockroaches are a consideration only in the inner city and southern parts of the United States.
Skin or in vitro tests for patients exposed to perennial allergens are essential to justify the expense and effort involved in implementing environmental controls. This site produced by the Journal of the American Medical Association . All rights reserved.