http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:8458 Background: A key component of many asthma management guidelines is the recommendation for patient education and regular medical review. A number of controlled trials have been conducted to measure the effectiveness of asthma education programmes. These programmes improve patient knowledge, but their impact on health outcomes is less well established. At its simplest level, education is limited to the transfer of information about asthma, its causes and its treatment. This review focused on the effects of limited asthma education. Objectives: The objective of this review was to assess the effects of limited (i.e. information only) asthma education on health outcomes in adults with asthma. Search strategy: We searched the Cochrane Airways Group trials register and reference lists of articles. Selection criteria: Randomised and controlled trials of individual asthma education involving information transfer only in adults over 16 years of age. Data collection and analysis: Trial quality was assessed and two reviewers extracted data independently. Study authors were contacted for missing information. Main results: Twelve trials were included. They were of variable quality. Limited asthma education did not reduce hospitalisation for asthma (weighted mean difference -0.03 average hospitalisations per person per year, 95% confidence interval -0.09 to 0.03). There was no significant effect on doctor visits, lung function and medication use. The effects on asthma symptoms were variable. There was no reduction in days lost from normal activity, but in two studies, perceived asthma symptoms did improve after limited asthma education (odds ratio 0.44, 95% confidence interval 0.26 to 0.74). In one study, limited asthma education was associated with reduced emergency department visits (reduction of -2.76 average visits per person per year, 95% confidence interval -4.34 to 1.18). Authors' conclusions: Use of limited asthma education as it has been practiced does not appear to improve health outcomes in adults with asthma although perceived symptoms may improve. Provision of information in the emergency department may be effective, but this needs to be confirmed. 2011-07-27T05:40:02.091Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:5375 Background: The atopic march hypothesis suggests that infants with eczema are at increased risk of asthma. Others argue that eczema is not a risk factor for asthma unless there is also sensitization or early wheezing. Objective: To examine the role of infantile eczema as a predictor of risk of childhood asthma, while allowing for the effects of early wheeze, sensitization, and sex, both as independent effects and possible effect modifiers. Methods: A total of 620 infants with a family history of allergic disease was recruited. Eczema and wheeze was prospectively documented to 2 years of age. Sensitization was determined by skin prick tests at 6, 12, and 24 months to 6 common food and inhalant allergens. Interviews were conducted at 6 and 7 years to ascertain current asthma. Results: Sufficiently complete data were available for 403 children. Eczema within the first 2 years of life was clearly associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma in boys (adjusted odds ratio, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.31-4.46) but not in girls (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.43-1.77; P for interaction = .031) even with adjustment for the effects of early allergic sensitization and wheeze. If these relationships are causal, an intervention to prevent eczema in boys might reduce the incidence of childhood asthma by as much as 28%. Conclusion: Eczema in the first 2 years of life is associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma in boys, but there is no evidence of this in girls. 2010-04-27T04:37:59.822Z ]]>