[Is there a consensus among specialists concerning asthma?]

A list of 30 questions--of which 25 were literal translations of the questions asked by R.L. Henry and A.D. Milner (British Medical Journal 1983, 287, 260-261) and 5 were new questions--was presented to 118 specialists of asthma selected among the members of the European Academy of Allergology. A consensus (more than 75% identical answers) was observed for 17 questions. Surprisingly, only 50% of French specialists perform lung function testing on one occasion, since concomitantly the importance of periodic evaluation of "breathing" was underscored. Comparison with answers given by British practitioners raises the question of why a chronic disease such as asthma is managed differently despite comparable severity. The urgent need for a definition of "good diagnostic and therapeutic practices in asthma" is pointed out.