Assessment of bronchial responsiveness as a guide to prognosis and therapy in asthma

The severity of airway inflammation in patients with asthma is best assessed by combining several tests of bronchial responsiveness. The prognostic significance of bronchial responsiveness is unknown, but indirect evidence suggests that those with moderate and severe asthma rarely remit spontaneously and permanently. Assessment of severity is crucial to the rational management of all patients with asthma. Severity can be used as a guide to both short- and long-term management.