Asthma is defined as a chronic inflammatory process, which leads to airflow limitation and increased responsiveness to asthma triggers. Standard methods for diagnosing and monitoring asthma traditionally focus on symptoms and airway contraction. Until now, routine assessment of the level of inflammation has not been possible.
• Does the patient have asthma or are the symptoms caused by something else?
• Has the patient’s asthma grown worse or has it resolved?
• Is the treatment effective – if not why not?
A Predict steroid response
B Improved compliance
C Cost effective
D Optimized dose-adjustments
E Predicts asthma relapse