Wesseldine 1999.

Methods	STUDY DESIGN: Parallel design, controlled trial LOCATION, NUMBER OF CENTRES ‐ Leicester UK, Children's hospital DURATION OF STUDY:18 months Outcome assessors blinded
Participants	N SCREENED: Not reported N RANDOMISED: 160 (treatment: 80; control: 80) N COMPLETED: 160 M = 98 F = 62 MEAN AGE: Range: 2 to 16 years BASELINE DETAILS: Previous ED visit: intervention 23%, control 19%; hospital admission in previous 6 months: intervention 20%, control 24% INCLUSION CRITERIA: 2 to 16 years, admitted to a children's hospital for asthma during 1996 EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Not reported
Interventions	EDUCATION GROUP: Type: structured discharge package by trained children's asthma nurse, consisting of information (written and interactive); instruction in self‐management; individual written action plan, which allowed medication to be adjusted according to symptoms and peak flow (for children over 7 to 8 years) Children and families included; delivered at time of discharge Setting: hospital Duration: 20 minutes; actual mean (SD): 23 (2.9) minutes CONTROL GROUP: Usual care TREATMENT PERIOD: Delivered at discharge FOLLOW‐UP PERIOD: 6 months
Outcomes	Hospital admissions, ED visits, GP consultations for problematic asthma, and school days lost for any medical illness ‐ measured for 6 months after discharge, i.e. AFTER intervention completed Nocturnal symptoms, activity restrictions also measured but data not given
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Adequate sequence generation?	Low risk	Computer generated numerical codes in blocks of 10
Allocation concealment?	Low risk	Opaque, sealed envelopes, opened after consent obtained
Incomplete outcome data addressed? All outcomes	Low risk	Complete set of data