Table 3.

Secondary measures of clinical effectiveness

Outcome	Definition
Treatment stability (definition 1); stable or unstable	Stable if: • No asthma-related hospital attendance/admission,a • No GP consultations for LRTI,b • No prescriptions for acute oral steroids, and • No change in therapy (≥50% increase in ICS dosage, change in ICS drug or delivery device, and/or additional therapy with theophylline or LTRA)
Treatment stability (definition 2); stable or unstable	Stable if: • No asthma-related hospital attendance/admission,a • No GP consultations for LRTI,b • No prescriptions for acute oral steroids, and • No change in therapy (≥50% increase in ICS dosage and/or additional therapy with theophylline or LTRA)
SABA dosage	Average daily dose (μg)
Controller–reliever ratioc	Categorized: <0.5 or ≥0.5

Notes:

^aAsthma-related hospital attendance/admission included Accident and Emergency, out-of-hours, and outpatient departments;

^bconsultations for lower respiratory tract infections requiring antibiotic therapy;

^ccalculated as [number of units of controllers/(units of controllers + relievers)].

Abbreviations: GP, general practitioner; ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; LRTI, lower respiratory tract infection; LTRA, leukotriene receptor antagonist; SABA, short-acting β₂ receptor agonist