Paediatric acute asthma management in Australia and New Zealand: Practice patterns in the context of clinical practice guidelines

Abstract

Objectives: To compare clinical practice guideline (CPG) recommendations and reported physician management of acute paediatric asthma in the 11 largest paediatric emergency departments, all of which have CPGs, in Australia (n = 9) and New Zealand (n = 2). All 11 sites participate in the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) research network. Methods: (a) A review of CPGs for acute childhood asthma from all PREDICT sites. (b) A standardised anonymous survey of senior emergency doctors at PREDICT sites investigating management of acute childhood asthma. Results: CPGs for mild to moderate asthma were similar across sites and based on salbutamol deliv..