title: Treating according to asthma control: does it work in real life?
abstract: Control-based asthma management has been incorporated in asthma guidelines for many years. This article reviews the evidence for its utility in adults, describes its strengths and limitations in real life, and proposes areas for further research, particularly about incorporation of future risk and identification of patients for whom phenotype-guided treatment would be effective and efficient. The strengths of control-based management include its simplicity and feasibility for primary care, and its limitations include the nonspecific nature of asthma symptoms, the complex role of β(2)-agonist use, barriers to stepping down treatment, and the underlying assumptions about asthma pathophysiology and treatment responses.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Management Group, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, PO Box M77, Missenden Road Post Office, New South Wales 2050, Australia. hkr@med.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Helen K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Reddel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome