Related Articles Assessment of impairment/disability due to occupational asthma through a multidimensional approach. Eur Respir J. 2006 Dec 20; Authors: Yacoub MR, Lavoie K, Lacoste G, Daigle S, L'archevêque J, Ghezzo H, Lemière C, Malo JL Subjects with occupational asthma (OA) are often left with permanent sequelae after removal from exposure. Assessing impairment/disability should utilize various tools. Aims: Examine whether: 1) assessment of inflammation in induced sputum is relevant to impairment; and 2) use of questionnaires on quality of life and psychological factors can be useful to the evaluation of disability. 40 subjects were prospectively assessed for permanent impairment/disability due to OA two years after cessation of exposure. Impairment was assessed as follows: 1) need for asthma medication; 2) asthma severity; 3) airway calibre and responsiveness; and 4) degree of inflammation in induced sputum. Disability was assessed according to quality of life and psychological distress. There was a significant improvement in airway responsiveness and inflammation from diagnosis to the present assessment. Sputum eosinophils >/=2% and neutrophils > 60% were present in 8 (20%) and 12 (30%) of subjects, one or the other feature being the only abnormalities in 15% of subjects. Quality of life was moderately affected and there was a prevalence close to 50% of depression and anxiety. In the assessment of subjects with OA, information on airway inflammation and psychological impacts are relevant to the assessment of impairment/disability although these findings need further investigation. PMID: 17182649 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]