CICER is currently supporting a guideline development group to update National Clinical Guideline No. 14: Management of an Acute Asthma Attack in Adults (aged 16 years and older), by conducting evidence reviews. CICER is undertaking a systematic review to identify and appraise current international clinical guidelines on the management of an acute asthma attack in adults. CICER is also undertaking systematic reviews on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of several interventions, including anti-il-5 drugs and post-discharge specialist assessment and self-management.  

An acute asthma attack is a sudden worsening of asthma symptoms, such as shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and or chest tightness. Such events can range in severity from mild to life-threatening, and they lead to thousands of inpatient admissions in Ireland each year. In 2015, a National Clinical Guideline (NCG) on Management of an Acute Asthma Attack in Adults (aged 16 years and older) was published by the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee. The aim of the guideline was to assist healthcare professionals in all care settings in assessing and making decisions on the management of an acute asthma attack in adults and to assist policy-makers and those planning acute services for adult asthma patients. An update to this guideline is currently underway, and the CICER Clinical Guideline Support team has been asked to conduct evidence reviews to support the update.

These protocols set out the steps planned for several CICER reviews, including search strategies, screening, data extraction, quality appraisal, and synthesis.