Children with asthma move between severity categories

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Chipps et al report an analysis of five double-blind randomized twelve-week asthma trials; the goal was to examine changes in asthma severity classification in the placebo groups, who met National Asthma Education and Prevention Program criteria for moderate to severe asthma at the time of enrollment. The children spent most of the weeks in the moderate to severe category, but there was considerable variability; the study makes the point that asthma severity is difficult to determine in many children using discrete, single assessments of lung function, asthma symptoms, or albuterol use.