Asthma in ambulatory care: use of objective diagnostic criteria.

Asthma, a disease of reversible airway hyperactivity, is responsible for 6.5 million visits to ambulatory care offices each year. In spite of treatment advances, asthma-related deaths have increased 31% from 1980 to 1987. The severity of asthma is often determined solely by history and physical examination, which can result in either overestimation or underestimation of disease severity. To optimize management, objective quantitative criteria should be added to the diagnostic evaluation. The use of peak flow meters provides physicians with easily obtainable objective measurements to augment their diagnostic armamentarium in the treatment of asthma.