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ADC Fetal and Neonatal Edition Letters and ADC Education and Practice Letters
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Electronic letters published:
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Paediatric prescribing of asthma drugsin
- Donald N Payne (2 October 2007)
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Donald N Payne, Paediatrician Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth WA 6008, Australia
Send letter to journal:
donald.payne{at}health.wa.gov.au Donald N Payne
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Editor So, doctors in the UK are not prescribing asthma drugs according to published guidelines [1]. Sadly, UK medical journals are also failing to hit the spot, by printing images of children using inappropriate inhalers, with suboptimal technique. Although paediatricians and current asthma guidelines recognise the difficulty that children have in using a metered- dose inhaler (MDI) without a spacer, the photo on the front cover of this month's edition of the journal shows a girl using an MDI, without a spacer, with her mouth wide open. Archives is not alone in showing an image of a child using an inappropriate inhaler device. The Lancet recently published an editorial highlighting the latest US asthma guidelines, also accompanied by a photo of a boy using an MDI without a spacer [2]. If UK doctors are to follow prescribing guidelines more closely, the editorial teams of these two well-respected journals need to take the lead. Yours Donald Payne References 1. Cohen S, Taitz J, Jaffé A. Paediatric prescribing of asthma drugs in the UK: are we sticking to the guideline? Arch Dis Child 2007;92:847-849 2. New guidelines for better asthma control. The Lancet 2007;370;802 |
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