Inhalers often dispensed for no good reason and have 'almost become a fashion accessory'
Doctors are overdiagnosing asthma, with inhalers frequently dispensed for no good reason, to the point that they have "almost become a fashion accessory," argue two leading respiratory doctors in a leading article published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
In the past asthma was undoubtedly underdiagnosed, but the evidence now is that the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction, insist Professor Andrew Bush and Dr Louise Fleming of Imperial College and Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, in the journal.
It matters, not only because of the cost of inhalers, but also because of their side effects, which are more likely to occur in patients who are prescribed an inappropriate dose, they say.
"Inhaled corticosteroids, when properly used, dramatically improve quality of life and reduce the risk of asthma attacks and mortality," they write.
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| If the past asthma was undoubtedly underdiagnosed, but the evidence now is that he pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction, insist experts in a new article. |
