Asthma in Australia 2008 
Table 3.6
National Asthma Council Australia Asthma Management Handbook assessment of asthma severity in newly diagnosed children aged over 5 years
Feature |
Infrequent intermittent |
Frequent intermittent |
Mild persistent |
Moderate persistent |
Severe persistent |
Daytime asthma symptoms between exacerbations |
Nil |
Nil |
More than once a week but not every day |
Daily |
Continuous |
Night-time asthma symptoms between exacerbations |
Nil |
Nil |
More than twice a month but not every week |
More than once a week |
Frequent |
Exacerbations |
Brief Mild Occur less than every 4–6 weeks |
More than twice a month |
May affect activity and sleep |
At least twice a week Restrict activity or affects sleep |
Frequent Restrict activity |
PEF or FEV1 |
More than 80% predicted |
At least 80% predicted |
At least 80% predicted |
60–80% predicted |
60% predicted or less |
PEF variability |
Less than 20% |
Less than 20% |
20–30% |
More than 30% |
More than 30% |
Note: FEV1 = forced expiratory volume in 1 second.
Source: NAC 2006.
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© Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2008