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How Do Pediatricians Diagnose Asthma in Tertiary Care Hospitals?
1Pediatric Medicine, College of Medicine Shaqra University, Shaqra, SAU.
Insights
Pediatric asthma diagnosis often relies solely on symptom recurrence, neglecting objective measures like reversibility or inflammation assessment. This highlights a significant gap between current practices and evidence-based standards for diagnosing childhood asthma.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Clinical Practice Guidelines
Background:
- Significant global disparities exist in pediatric asthma diagnosis guidelines and actual clinical practice.
- Current diagnostic approaches for childhood asthma may not align with established best practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate whether pediatricians diagnose asthma in children according to established best standard practices.
- To identify discrepancies between recommended and actual diagnostic methods for pediatric asthma.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted in tertiary care hospital emergency and outpatient departments.
- Parents of asthmatic children were surveyed using a performa detailing best practice diagnostic components.
- Data from 234 children were analyzed using SPSS version 27.
Main Results:
- Asthma diagnosis in 100% of cases relied on symptom recurrence alone.
- Objective reversibility testing (peak flow meter or spirometry) was performed in only 6% of children.
- Assessment of airway inflammation was absent in all cases (0.0%).
Conclusions:
- Pediatric asthma diagnosis currently lacks precision and deviates significantly from evidence-based standards.
- There is a critical need for enhanced training, motivation, and equipment for healthcare staff involved in asthma diagnosis.
- Improving diagnostic accuracy is essential for effective childhood asthma management.
Objective:
There is a lot of disparity in the guidelines and the practice of pediatricians globally for diagnosing asthma in children. To find out if pediatricians are diagnosing asthma in children according to best standard practices.
Methodology:
A cross-sectional study was conducted at tertiary care hospitals' emergency and outpatient departments (OPDs). All the parents accompanying the asthmatic children to the emergency or outpatient departments of the tertiary care hospitals were asked questions regarding the diagnosis of their children's asthma on a prescribed performa. This performa had all the components of the best standard practices for the diagnosis of asthma in children. The data were entered into SPSS version 27 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) and analyzed.
Results:
Among the 234 children, the diagnosis of asthma was based on only one component out of three, i.e., recurrence (100%) of symptoms or signs. The objective measurement of the second component, i.e., reversibility with a peak flow meter (PFM) or spirometry, was assessed in only 6% of children. The third component, i.e., the presence of inflammation, was not assessed at all (0.0%).
Conclusions:
The diagnosis of asthma in children lacks precision. This is far from the evidence-based best standard practices. There is a need to provide motivation, training, and equipment to the staff.
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