Quality-of-life considerations in the treatment of asthma.

There is a growing body of evidence showing that the conventional clinical indices of asthma severity (airway calibre, symptoms, airway responsiveness, etc.) correlate only weakly with how patients are actually feeling and how they are able to function in their daily lives because of their asthma. When assessing and treating asthma, it is certainly important to evaluate the airways. However, it is equally important to evaluate the impact of the condition on the patients themselves. There are now a number of health-related quality-of-life instruments, with strong measurement properties, that may be used in both clinical studies and practice. They provide scientifically sound and valid information about patients' experience that complements conventional clinical measures.