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  • The number needed to treat provides additional insight on the performance of detection points of asthma exacerbations in self-management plans: authors’ response on behalf of the BIOAIR consortium

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Correspondence
The number needed to treat provides additional insight on the performance of detection points of asthma exacerbations in self-management plans: authors’ response on behalf of the BIOAIR consortium
  1. Maciej Kupczyk1,2,
  2. Sven-Erik Dahlen2
  1. 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Asthma and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
  2. 2 The Centre for Allergy Research and the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  1. Correspondence to Dr Maciej Kupczyk, The Centre for Allergy Research, Scheeles vag 1, The Retzius Laboratory for Translational Lung Research Stockholm SE-17-171, Sweden; maciek.kupczyk{at}ki.se

https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2013-203952

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    We would like to thank Drs Honkoop and Sont for their interesting comments regarding our paper.1 We much appreciate the value of their original contribution on the early detection of asthma exacerbations.2

    In our study, in the BIOAIR asthma cohort, we have proven that among several studied variables, peak expiratory flow (PEF) and day symptoms provide the highest sensitivity and specificity for the detection of severe asthma exacerbations. This confirms that the selection of action points in the study by Honkoop et al 2 was optimal. However, data on other possible variables (eg, rescue medication use) are not discussed. We look forward to whether future studies confirm our finding that the use of short-acting β-agonists is no longer of value for the prediction of an exacerbation.

    We agree that the …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors MK and SED performed necessary calculations and drafted this letter on behalf of the BIOAIR consortium.

    • Competing interests None.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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