Management of asthma in the emergency department: a consensus statement

The purpose of this consensus statement is to provide a tool to assist in the management of asthma in Spanish emergency departments and to improve care of patients with asthma. A multidisciplinary team of 3 emergency medicine specialists, 3 respiratory medicine specialists, and 3 allergy specialists made a list of clinical questions and chose 4 clinical practice guidelines on asthma management to prioritize when answering the questions. The team members first worked individually and then discussed their findings in a meeting to reach consensus about the content of the present statement. The recommendations and clinical algorithms in the statement contribute to detecting the asthmatic patient on arrival at the emergency department, establishing the diagnosis, following unified treatment criteria, and referring the patient to a respiratory medicine specialist, an allergy specialist, or a primary care physician, as appropriate. The definitions used in this statement provide a common language for asthma in the interest of helping to unify care practices in emergency departments. The diagnostic criteria, treatment guidelines, and criteria for discharging and admitting patients provided should be useful for managing asthma in Spanish emergency departments.