Extract
Readers of the European Respiratory Journal are well aware that asthma is an important healthcare concern. Current treatments include glucocorticoids, leukotriene antagonists, long-acting bronchodilators, monoclonal antibodies directed at interleukin (IL)5, IgE, and IL13, and a degree of chemotherapy in cost and degree of complexity becoming close kin to individualised treatment for cancer, and yet hospitalisation and emergency care with substantial impact on quality of life continues. Alexander has yet to winter at Gordium, unsheathe his sword and slice the knot. In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal, Stucky et al. [1] present work that disentangles major contributors to asthma-specific quality of life that often have been confounded in patient measures reported in previous research [2]. By doing so, the authors have clarified how asthma symptoms, asthma control and general health-related quality of life, uniquely and in the aggregate, influence asthma-specific quality of life. This work points the way for more focussed and precise measures which will, in turn, help inform the discussion about treatment options and healthcare services delivery.
Abstract
A new study reports that non-symptom aspects of asthma control and generic QOL best predict asthma-specific QOL http://ow.ly/PWNMB
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: None declared.
- Received June 15, 2015.
- Accepted July 21, 2015.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015