Chris Griffiths, Gill Foster, Neil Barnes, Sandra Eldridge, Helen Tate, Shamoly Begum et al
Griffiths C, Foster G, Barnes N, Eldridge S, Tate H, Begum S et al.
Specialist nurse intervention to reduce unscheduled asthma care in a deprived multiethnic area: the east London randomised controlled trial for high risk asthma (ELECTRA)
BMJ 2004; 328 :144
doi:10.1136/bmj.37950.784444.EE
The best management of asthma?
An uninspired intervention, in a skewed sample of patients, giving an
irrelevant outcome may not further our knowledge of the best management of
asthma. This research demonstrates some classic weaknesses. An uncosted
intervention that is not based on a theoretical model of physician or
patient behaviour, more than half the patients in the target population
are excluded before randomisation which limits its generalisability, a
primary outcome that is a measure only of process and possibly unrelated
to the patients health status. Asthma is an important illness which merits
better published research.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests