Guideline defined asthma management in children: how compliant are general practitioners

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic debilitating illness in children. The management of this condition varies from place to place depending on the accepted guideline used in such areas. However, there is a global initiative on asthma management (GINA) that has unified all the local guidelines such that the management is almost the same worldwide. Objective: To determine the awareness of and adherence to the GINA Guideline in the management of asthma by private practitioners. Methods: Semi-structured self-administered questionnaires were given to general practitioners during one of their continuous medical education (CME) meetings on asthma facilitated by the authors of the study. The data so generated were entered in EXCEL and transferred to SPSS and analysed. Results: Out of the 50 respondents, 48 reported that they managed asthma. Six of the 50 respondents were aware of the existence and content of the GINA Guideline. However, only 2 doctors could correctly state how to treat children under-5 years according to the GINA guideline. In the case of children above-5 years, only those who could correctly treat children under-5 years also could treat children above-5 years with the GINA guidelines. No participant could correctly state the Guideline-Defined long-term management of asthma. Conclusion: Management of asthma by general practitioners does not follow the GINA Guidelines. There was also poor awareness by the doctors of the existence of the GINA guideline. There is need for frequent update programmes for general practitioners.