The use of the asthma clinical pathway (CP) for asthma management may ensure appropriate treatment for patients. We evaluated the impact of the asthma CP on the management of acute asthma exacerbation in the emergency department (ED) of our hospital in Korea.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective before-after study on the CP. The patients included children aged 3–15 years who presented with acute asthma exacerbation at our ED. The CP based on the 2006 GINA guidelines was implemented in 2008, whereas the strategy used in 2007 was not a standardized one.
Results:
Of the 48 patients in 2008, 3 were hospitalized (6.3%; post-implementation); 7 of 53 patients in 2007 were hospitalized (13.2%; pre-implementation; P > 0.05). According to the results of outpatient observation, the continuation of wheezing decreased from 12 of 21 patients in 2007 (57.1%) to 7 of 22 patients in 2008 (31.8%; P < 0.05), and the administration of relievers decreased from 9 of 21 patients in 2007 (42.9%) to 5 of 22 patients in 2008 (22.7%; P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The CP was successfully implemented in the ED of a Korean hospital, and reduced wheezing and administration of relievers was noted in outpatient observations.