Predictive Properties of the Asthma Control Test and Its Component Questions for Severe Asthma Exacerbations.

Predictive Properties of the Asthma Control Test and Its Component Questions for Severe Asthma Exacerbations.

J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2016 Aug 17;

Authors: Cajigal S, Wells KE, Peterson EL, Ahmedani BK, Yang JJ, Kumar R, Burchard EG, Williams LK

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Current US guidelines recommend the Asthma Control Test (ACT) for assessing disease control and selecting treatment.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to prospectively assess the ACT and its component questions for their utility in predicting the risk of severe asthma exacerbations.
METHODS: Individuals were participants in the Study of Asthma Phenotypes and Pharmacogenomic Interactions by Race-Ethnicity, and those included in the current analysis had the following characteristics: age 18 years or more, physician-diagnosed asthma, and longitudinal care received at a large health system in southeastern Michigan. Study participants underwent a baseline evaluation, which included answering the ACT. A severe asthma exacerbation was defined as one requiring oral steroids, an emergency department visit, or inpatient admission. Receiver-operator characteristic curves were used to measure and compare the predictive utility of the ACT and its component questions for severe asthma exacerbations.
RESULTS: Of 1180 participants, 354 (30.0%) experienced a severe asthma exacerbation within 6 months of their baseline evaluation. When compared with the individual questions that composed the ACT, the composite score was significantly better at predicting severe exacerbations with 1 exception; the composite ACT score and the question assessing rescue medication use were not significantly different (P = .580). Pharmacy-based records of metered-dose inhaler short-acting beta-agonist use and asthma severity were also not significantly different from the composite ACT score.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that although the ACT is modestly predictive for exacerbations, the composite score may not be superior to assessing rescue medication use alone for predicting the risk of severe asthma exacerbations.

PMID: 27544712 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

View full post on pubmed: asthma

New asthma research raises questions about steroid inhalers’ effectiveness – Stuff.co.nz


Stuff.co.nz

New asthma research raises questions about steroid inhalers' effectiveness
Stuff.co.nz
Some adolescent asthma sufferers could be relying on ineffective treatment, with new research suggesting steroid inhalers don't work for everyone. Massey University's Centre for Public Health Research led an international study, which discovered for

View full post on asthma – Google News

Research group questions price of GlaxoSmithKline’s new asthma drug – Philadelphia Business Journal


Philadelphia Business Journal

Research group questions price of GlaxoSmithKline's new asthma drug
Philadelphia Business Journal
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a Boston-based nonprofit research organization that studies the effectiveness and value of drugs, issued a draft report Monday that said the price of GlaxoSmithKline's new asthma medicine Nucala should be
Independent group says new Glaxo asthma drug far too expensiveReuters

all 15 news articles »

View full post on asthma – Google News

Study questions benefit of breastfeeding in preventing allergies, asthma – ConsumerAffairs


ConsumerAffairs

Study questions benefit of breastfeeding in preventing allergies, asthma
ConsumerAffairs
But according to a new study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, no significant difference in allergies were found between children who were ever breast fed versus those who were …
Kids With Asthma: Avoid The ER By Avoiding The ERScience 2.0
New therapy attacks the source of asthma, treats the disease at cellular levelNews-Medical.net
Kids with asthma can avoid the ER by avoiding the EREurekAlert (press release)
MD Magazine
all 114 news articles »

View full post on asthma – Google News

CAPE to answer parents’ asthma questions at Oct. 6 program – The River Cities Sunday Tribune

CAPE to answer parents' asthma questions at Oct. 6 program
The River Cities Sunday Tribune
FREDERICKSBURG — What do you do if your child has asthma or you think they do? The Children's Asthma Prevention Education (CAPE) program is designed to help answer parents questions and provide them with tools to help in the future. Parents of …

View full post on asthma – Google News

Overuse, Safety Questions Cloud Advair’s Ascent to Asthma Blockbuster – ProPublica


ProPublica

Overuse, Safety Questions Cloud Advair's Ascent to Asthma Blockbuster
ProPublica
The asthma drug has generated more than $80 billion in global revenues for its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, since its U.S. approval in 2000. With its distinctive purple inhaler, Advair has helped legions of asthma sufferers achieve control of their symptoms.

and more »

View full post on asthma – Google News

ProPublica: Safety questions over GSK’s Advair linger after years on the … – FiercePharma

ProPublica: Safety questions over GSK's Advair linger after years on the
FiercePharma
Recent research suggests that a significant percentage of asthma patients begin using Advair inappropriately, the watchdog says, and that can trigger the "risk of asthma-related death" described on the med's label. And while the FDA in 2010 required

and more »

View full post on asthma – Google News

Questions surround canceled EMS call in Sarasota arrestee’s death; man … – Fox News


The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Questions surround canceled EMS call in Sarasota arrestee's death; man
Fox News
SARASOTA, Fla. – Officials are investigating why an ambulance was called off by Sarasota Police for a man who complained of having an asthma attack while being taken into custody. The man, who police hit twice with a Taser, later died in a hospital.
Sarasota man complains of asthma attack during arrest, dies in hospitalGreenfield Daily Reporter
UPDATE: Questions surround canceled EMS call in arrestee's deathSarasota Herald-Tribune
Man, arrested for drug possession, dies in custodyYourObserver.com
Patch.com
all 42 news articles »

View full post on asthma – Google News

Study Questions Link Between Asthma and City Living – TIME


NPR (blog)

Study Questions Link Between Asthma and City Living
TIME
That's why a new study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is so surprising. The findings, which come from a study of 23,000 U.S. children, show that income and race are much greater risk factors for asthma than where a child
The City Might Not Be To Blame For High Asthma RatesNPR (blog)
Researchers debunk the idea that asthma is more common in inner citiesLos Angeles Times
Inner-City Asthma Risk Overrated?MedPage Today
Medical News Today –Futurity: Research News –USA TODAY
all 92 news articles »

View full post on asthma – Google News