Results Although highlighting a general lack of high- quality real-life effectiveness observational research on these clinical ly important topics , the analysis provided insights into how identified observational studies might inform asthma guidelines developers and clinicians .
Overall , RELEVANT appeared reliable and easy to use by expert review ers .
Conclusions Using such quality appraisal tools is m and atory to assess whether specific observational real-life effectiveness studies can be used to inform guideline development and /or decision-making in clinical practice
Abstract Introduction A Task Force was commissioned jointly by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology ( EAACI ) and the Respiratory Effectiveness Group ( REG ) to develop a  quality assessment tool for real-life observational research to identify high- quality real-life asthma studies that could be considered within future guideline development .
Influence of body mass index on the response to asthma controller agents
The incidence of asthma has been positively associated with obesity . Asthma comprises diverse “ phenotypes ” reflecting heterogeneity in a number of characteristics , including response to therapy . The present authors examined whether body mass index ( BMI ) influenced the response to placebo , as well as to two asthma controller medications . A post hoc analysis was performed , pooling data from four double-blind , placebo-controlled studies r and omising 3,073 moderate asthmatic adults to montelukast ( n = 1,439 ) , beclomethasone ( n = 894 ) or placebo ( n = 740 ) . The primary end point was asthma control days ; other end points were forced expiratory volume in one second , β-agonist use and nocturnal awakening . Analyses were conducted using BMI classification into normal ( < 25.0 kg·m−2 ; 52 % of patients ) , overweight ( 25–29.9 kg·m−2 ; 32 % ) and obese ( ≥30.0 kg·m−2 ; 16 % ) categories , as well as BMI as a continuous variable . The treatment groups were balanced for BMI , demographic characteristics and parameters of asthma control .  The placebo response for all end points was generally lower with increasing BMI . Similarly , the response to the inhaled corticosteroid decreased , whereas the response to the leukotriene antagonist remained stable . In conclusion , post hoc data from the present study suggested that body mass index may influence the natural history of asthma control ( as reflected by response to placebo ) and may differentially influence response to the two active agents , warranting explicit testing in future prospect i ve studies
Results Although highlighting a general lack of high- quality real-life effectiveness observational research on these clinical ly important topics , the analysis provided insights into how identified observational studies might inform asthma guidelines developers and clinicians .
Overall , RELEVANT appeared reliable and easy to use by expert review ers .
Conclusions Using such quality appraisal tools is m and atory to assess whether specific observational real-life effectiveness studies can be used to inform guideline development and /or decision-making in clinical practice
Abstract Introduction A Task Force was commissioned jointly by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology ( EAACI ) and the Respiratory Effectiveness Group ( REG ) to develop a  quality assessment tool for real-life observational research to identify high- quality real-life asthma studies that could be considered within future guideline development .