Outcome measures for asthma disease management

Purpose of review Many interventions have been undertaken in managing asthma in a population-based framework. The identification of successful interventions would guide policy implementation to improve outcomes in patient morbidity and mortality and healthcare costs. Recent findings Several studies have focussed on emergency room interventions in asthma management. Many support the existence of the 'teachable moment' to lead to interventions that are effective. Other popular interventions are community-based educational programmes, targeting clinician and patient behavior modification. In some cases, it is unclear how these interventions impact patient-specific outcomes such as quality of life, symptom-free days, or missed days of school or work as these were not measured. Most studies separate patients on the basis of age (adults versus children), adding yet another level of complexity to the development of useful interventions. Summary Several of the interventions failed to show a significant improvement of patient-centered asthma outcomes when they were measured. This was despite an improvement in surrogate measures, such as attendance of follow-up appointments. Many studies did not (or were not designed to) show a durable response. Further research is needed to understand this chronic disease and devise effective interventions with appropriate outcomes for measuring their effectiveness.