The pediatric respiratory assessment measure (PRAM)

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The PRAM has been a validated clinical asthma score for assessing asthma severity in preschool and school-aged children since its report as the Preschool Respiratory Assessment Measure in The Journal in 2000. In this issue of The Journal, Ducharme et al from Montreal Children’s Hospital report on a prospective cohort study that expands the age range from 3-6 years to 2-17 years. The authors acknowledge that one limitation of this study (which used admission rates as an outcome) is that the admitting physician was not blinded to the PRAM values which could have influenced the decision to admit. Overall, however, the PRAM appears to be a useful tool to evaluate asthma severity in children age 2-17 years. We would hope to see further studies validating its use, particularly in patients with greater severity.