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The Risk–Benefit Balance of Oral Corticosteroid Treatment for Asthma Attacks: A Discrete Choice Experiment of Patients and Healthcare Professionals in the UK and New Zealand
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November 2025
Authors: Imran Howell, Jonathan Noble, Aleksandra Howell, Caitlin Morgan, Jennifer Logan, Sarah Miller, Rekha Chaudhuri, Richard E. K. Russell, Mona Bafadhel, Richard Beasley, Ian D. Pavord, John Buckell
Comment by Mark Lavercombe: Understanding patient preferences is a critical component of shared decision-making, and this approach is recommended as part of asthma care in a diverse series of countries across the world. In this paper, authors from the United Kingdom and New Zealand explore the impact of the perceived risks of oral corticosteroid use in acute asthma on patient and healthcare professional (HCP) treatment preferences. Participants in both groups were willing to trade off treatment benefits against potential side effects, although patients were less willing to accept side effect risks than HCP. The authors recommend a personalised approach to asthma treatment decision-making, although this would require clinical trials to ensure safety and efficacy.
Medical Education Editor for Respirology
Dr Mark Lavercombe was appointed in this specialist editor role in 2021 to further expand and strengthen Respirology’s contribution to medical education.
Located in Melbourne, Australia, he works as a clinician in respiratory health and sleep disorders at Western Health and is affiliated with The University of Melbourne as a distinguished expert in medical education.
He became a member of our Editorial Board in 2016 with the responsibility of selecting new Respirology publications with educational value, which has grown into a curated article selection featured on this page, as a benefit to APSR members.
Dr Lavercombe also authors a column in Respirology on his most recent choices and their specific value to continued medical education for our readers around the world.
