How Do Pediatricians Diagnose Asthma in Tertiary Care Hospitals?

Abstract

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. 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. 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%). 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.