Decision-making in acute asthma

Abstract

The management of an eight-year-old child with acute asthma was investigated by putting a semi-structured patient management problem (PMP) to 618 general practitioners. Of the 321 (52 per cent) who replied, 112 (35 per cent) would arrange for immediate admission to hospital and a further 154 (48 per cent) would have the child admitted after 30 minutes when initial home treatment appeared not to be working. Among those who would treat at home there was considerable variation in the type and intensity of treatment given. The more recently qualified were more likely to admit immediately or to treat vigorously at home (with intravenous steroids and/or aminophylline); no other characteristic of the doctor or the practice was related to admission decision or to treatment. Expectations concerning the immediate hospital management of the patient also varied widely. Comparison of the expected hospital management with actual management recorded in hospital case-notes suggested that general practitioners overestimate the use of intensive treatments (steroids, intravenous drip, oxygen) and investigations (blood gases, lung function tests, chest radiograph).