Rhys H. Clark, Zoe V. Wake, Hannah Forward
Asthma is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in emergency departments worldwide. New guidelines recommend the measurement of Peak Expira tory Flow or Spirometry to assess severity and monitor response to treatment. This is a retrospective review of asthma presentations to an emergency department. The objec tive of this study is to determine the proportion of adult patients (aged over 16 years) w ith mild to moderate asthma who have an evaluation of Peak Expiratory flow measured and doc umented at their initial assessment in the emergency department. 63 patients were included in this study with a median age of 50 years. Peak expiratory flow was documented for 68.3% (43) of the 63 patients during their initial assessment, and 86.0% (37) of these 43 patients had a follow-up PEF measurement subsequent to the commencement of treatment.
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