Outcome of work-related asthma exacerbations in Quebec and Ontario.

There are differences in the management of workers with work-related asthma within Canadian provinces. In Quebec, the compensation of a case of occupational asthma is usually based on the positivity of a specific inhalation challenge, whereas in Ontario, the diagnosis is usually based on serial peak expiratory flow (PEF), provocative methacholine concentration causing a 20% decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (PC20) monitoring at and away from work, and specific skin-prick tests (that is, less often on specific inhalation challenges) [1]. We aimed: 1) to compare the delay between the onset of work-related asthma symptoms and the diagnosis of occupational asthma and work-exacerbated asthma between Quebec and Ontario; and 2) to assess and compare the healthcare utilisation in subjects with occupational asthma and work-exacerbated asthma between the provinces before and after the first assessment in two tertiary clinics in Quebec and Ontario that specialise in work-related asthma.