Importance of Evidence Grading for Guideline Implementation: The Example of Asthma.

The article reports on the release of the Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (EPR-3) by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in the U.S. The report deals the extent to which guidelines cling to the principles stated by using EPR-3 as the first example. EPR-3 applied an unconventional evidence-grading system that stressed consistency and precision at the expense of patient-oriented results.