CHRONIC PERSISTENT ASTHMA PRESENTING TO AN ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT - COMPLIANCE WITH BTS GUIDELINES

Forty-six patients, known to suffer from asthma, attending an inner-ci ty accident and emergency (A&E) department, were screened for the pres ence of chronic symptoms and their current treatment documented. The p atients were asked if they knew their optimum peak expiratory flow rat e (PEFR) or if they possessed a peak Bow meter. The treatment being us ed by each of the 26 patients with evidence of chronic persistent asth ma was compared to that as advised by the British Thoracic Society (B. T.S.) and it was found that only three patients were receiving adequat e treatment. Most often the treatment regimes were suboptimal due to t he absence of an inhaled anti-inflammatory agent. Patient awareness of their own PEFR or possession of a peak flow meter was uniformly low i n both the well-controlled patients and those with chronic persistent asthma.