Asthma tests given the miss by healthcare centres

Less than one third of facilities carry out tests.

ABU DHABI // Fewer than a third of healthcare facilities equipped to diagnose asthma carry out tests for the disease.

Of 246 centres that provide care for asthma patients in the emirate, only 66 offer spirometry, a common lung test.

The figures are part of a 2010 study released this week to coincide with the launch of a Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (Haad) training programme on asthma diagnosis and management.

The study also found that at the 66 facilities that offered spirometry, only 3 per cent of asthmatics had been given the test.

Part of the problem is a lack of awareness among primary- healthcare physicians, said Dr Khaled Al Jaberi, the manager of the non-communicable diseases department at Haad.

"What we found is there is a significant gap in knowledge, especially on the primary-healthcare level," said Dr Al Jaberi. "We think … the first line of management should be through primary health care. This is the thing we really need to work on."

An unrelated nationwide study, released on Monday, revealed almost 13 per cent of adults in the country are asthmatic.

Mismanagement of the disease has also led to a burden in emergency-room departments.

"We see a significant number of patients going to ER," Dr Al Jaberi said. "The main problem is not that they [doctors and patients] don't know, but they don't give it that much attention.

"The number of visits to healthcare facilities for asthma-related medical needs in 2010 was 449,967. Emergency visits were about 9 per cent, of which 63 per cent were paediatric visits."