title: Revisiting asthma control: how should it best be defined?
abstract: Management guidelines for asthma emphasize a stepwise approach in treating this disease based on daytime symptoms, nighttime symptoms, and lung function assessed by peak expiratory flow or forced expiratory volume at 1s (FEV(1)). Although improvement of lung function is a key goal in managing asthma, clinicians often see patients who may have achieved a normal FEV(1) with guideline-recommended treatment but continue to experience limitations in their daily activities. In such situations, focusing the assessment solely on pulmonary function (e.g. FEV(1)) is often inadequate and may lead to undertreatment. Alternate assessment measures are therefore often needed to assess asthma control and achieve a successful treatment outcome. This review will provide practical guidance relevant to the clinical assessment of asthma control.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Asthma Clinical Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1504 Taub Loop, Houston, TX 77030, USA. hanania@bcm.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Nicola A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Hanania
mesh_terms: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents