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For Immediate Use 09.30 Thursday 3 November
Attn: Newsdesks
Health Correspondents
Revised national guidelines launched to cut
attacks and prevent deaths from asthma
Health professionals throughout the UK will be advised to look at a possible
diagnosis of work-related asthma in all adults with symptoms of limited airflow
or where childhood asthma reappears, as part of a series of new recommendations
made in updated national guidelines launched today.
The updated recommendations developed jointly by the British Thoracic Society
(BTS) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) are the result
of detailed work to provide health professionals with a ‘living guideline’
based on the latest research. The recommendations are designed to improve the
quality of treatment provided to the UK’s estimated 5.2 million asthma
sufferers (1 in 12 adults).
The guidelines say that patients suspected to be suffering from work-related
asthma – the UK’s fastest growing occupational disease – should
be promptly referred to a respiratory physician or occupational physician. GPs
and specialists are recommended to identify from consultations whether symptoms
improve on days away from work or on holiday or get worse when at work. It also
states that diagnosis of occupational asthma should be made using air flow measurements,
with at least four readings per day, and that relocation away from exposure
should occur as soon as diagnosis is confirmed, ideally within 12 months of
the first work-related symptoms of asthma.
- Pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDI) and spacers are ‘at
least as good’ as a nebuliser at treating mild and moderate
asthma. Previous research has suggested that nebulisers have no
advantages over a pressurised inhaler
- For patients with both mild and acute asthma, self-management
plans should be used. Evidence shows that mailing a partly completed
or blank self-management plan, with an invitation for asthma check-up,
can double the changes of a patient attending. A new template
is included in the guidance
Commenting as the update went live, Dr Graham Douglas of SIGN and consultant
at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary said:
“Healthcare professionals and patients benefit from authoritative national
guidelines, but it can be far from straightforward ensuring that these keep
abreast of new findings. This second annual update to the national asthma guidelines
published in 2003 shows that there is a real commitment to maintaining a ‘living
guideline’ and that where before there may have been peaks of interest
the updates justify this staying at a high level. Users can quickly see through
colour coding how the updates are shaping the guideline.
Dr Bernard Higgins, member of the British Thoracic Society and consultant physician
at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, commented:
“Work-related asthma is the UK’s fastest growing occupational disease
and the guidance prompts all health care professionals to be aware of this possible
diagnosis in patients with symptoms of asthma.”
“The new recommendations will help health professionals provide the best
possible care and treatment for the millions of people who struggle for breath
every day as a result of exposure to substances in the work place.”
The British
Guideline on the Management of Asthma: Revised Edition November
2005 can be viewed on the SIGN and BTS websites at www.sign.ac.uk
and www.brit-thoracic.org.uk
Areas covered: diagnosis and natural history; non-pharmacological management;
pharmacological management; inhaler devices; management of acute asthma; asthma
in pregnancy; occupational asthma; organisation and delivery of care; patient
education and self-management; concordance and compliance; outcomes and audit.
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) develops national clinical
guidelines aimed at reducing variations in clinical practice and in outcomes
for patients. Founded in 1993, SIGN became part of the national clinical effectiveness
body, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) on 1 January 2005. NHS QIS
oversees a range of complementary activities on translating research into practice,
setting and monitoring standards, and promoting clinical excellence in NHSScotland.
The British Thoracic Society (BTS) is the UK’s professional body of respiratory
specialists. The main aim of BTS is to improve the standards of care and treatment
for patients with lung disease in the UK.
Self-management: prior to the update the guidelines already recommended that
self-management education should be offered to all with asthma and
the revised guidelines highlight that this has been shown to be
advantageous even in those with milder disease, with the only exception
being in those aged under 5 years. New self-management educational
materials have been produced by Asthma UK and are themed under the
title ‘Be In Control’: www.asthma.org.uk/about/control.php
BTS media contacts: Lauren Goddard or Alessandra Norman on 020 7815 3900
SIGN media contact: Patrick Maitland-Cullen on 07968 494 164
SIGN
28 Thistle Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1EN
www.sign.ac.uk
BTS
17 Doughty Street
London
WC1N 2PI
www.brit-thoracic.org.uk
ENDS
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