Consensus of an American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and American Thoracic Society workgroup on definition of clinical remission in asthma on treatment

As more and better therapies for the treatment of asthma are developed, the approach to classifying asthma control has been in transition. With the availability of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) as a treatment class came the introduction of control measures using guideline-based criteria, which included validated tools such as the Asthma Control Test (ACT), Baseline Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AirQ), and the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ). 1 Schatz M Sorkness CA Li JT Marcus P Murray JJ Nathan RA et al. Asthma Control Test: reliability, validity, and responsiveness in patients not previously followed by asthma specialists. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006; 117: 549-561 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (942) Google Scholar , 2 Murphy KR Chipps B Beuther DA Wise RA McCann W Gilbert I et al. US PRECISION advisory board. Development of the asthma impairment and risk questionnaire (AIRQ): a composite control measure. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2020; 8: 2263-2274 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (25) Google Scholar , 3 Khusial RJ Honkoop PJ van der Meer V Snoeck-Stroband JB Sont JK. Validation of online Asthma Control Questionnaire and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire. ERJ Open Res. 2020; 6: 00289-02019 Crossref PubMed Scopus (12) Google Scholar After the addition of long-acting bronchodilator (LABA) therapy, Bateman et al described a measure of total control in the Gaining Optimal Asthma controL study, defining a higher level of control. 4 Bateman ED Boushey HA Bousquet J Busse WW Clark TJ Pauwels RA et al. Can guideline-defined asthma control be achieved? the Gaining Optimal Asthma ControL study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004; 170 (836.e844) Crossref PubMed Scopus (1516) Google Scholar With the more recent introduction of new biologic therapies for asthma treatment, the concept of disease remission has become an aspiration of treatment. Defining remission in asthma careAnnals of Allergy, Asthma & ImmunologyVol. 131Issue 6PreviewTreatments for asthma continue to evolve and with the development of biologics, we are now entering an arena in which some patients seem to have their asthma symptoms disappear entirely. This dramatic improvement in a chronic disease is reminiscent of remission in other chronic illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis; but until now, there has been no accepted definition for remission in asthma. In this issue of Annals, a workgroup that involved asthma experts from North America has put together a list of 6 criteria that they have defined as indicating remission of asthma. Full-Text PDF