Personalised asthma action plans for adults with asthma

Area of Science:

• Respiratory Medicine
• Clinical Trials
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Personalised asthma action plans (PAAPs) are crucial tools for empowering individuals in asthma self-management.
• PAAPs provide individualized instructions for maintaining asthma control and managing exacerbations.
• These plans incorporate baseline data, medication details, and guidance on symptom response and seeking medical help.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of PAAPs, used alone or with education, in adults with asthma.
• Assessed patient-reported outcomes, healthcare resource utilization, and safety.
• Determined the impact of PAAPs on asthma exacerbations and symptom control.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a systematic review of parallel randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving adults with asthma.
• Searched multiple databases and trial registers up to September 2016.
• Included studies comparing PAAP versus no PAAP, and/or PAAP plus education versus education alone; extracted data and assessed risk of bias.

Main Results:

• Fifteen studies with 3062 participants were included; overall evidence quality was low or very low.
• PAAPs alone or with education showed no clear benefit or harm for exacerbation hospitalizations, symptom scores, or serious adverse events.
• A statistically significant but clinically insignificant improvement in quality of life was observed with PAAPs; no clear effect on corticosteroid use or respiratory function.

Conclusions:

• Limited data and low-quality evidence make it difficult to draw firm conclusions on PAAP effectiveness in adult asthma management.
• No additional benefit or harm was found for PAAP use compared to no PAAP or education alone.
• Further research focusing on patient-relevant outcomes like exacerbation frequency and quality of life in diverse adult populations is recommended.