Can the multidisciplinary input of an asthma nurse specialist and respiratory physician improve the discharge management of acute asthma admissions?

Abstract

patients, a belief that night attire will prevent patients absconding from ward areas. The last of these reasons is not supported by evidence from literature reviews. 5 There is a belief that patients who abscond are easier to identify if they are wearing certain clothing. Searches of relevant databases (eg CINAHL) illustrate that nursing and other non-medical specialties fair no better concerning research, and evidence in this area is limited. One recent study of psychiatric inpatients did, however, highlight a disparity between beliefs of nurses and patients, particularly when the latter were being detained under the Mental Health Act. 6 The same research did, however, highlight the importance of day clothing in patients' quest for 'normality'. Effective care of older people is often complex and challenging, but frequently comes down to addressing 'straightforward' issues in an attempt to maximise patients' functional abilities. Above and beyond medicine, all who care for older patients (regardless of clinical specialty) have a role in promoting dignity, independence and choice for patients. In a time of high-tech solutions, simple improvements in overall clinical care can be overlooked. Wearing day clothes is not supported by trials or meta-analyses, and yet this does not devalue the process, and allows patients to become people once more. Patients are people and clothes maketh the man or woman.

A multidisciplinary team case management approach reduces the burden of frequent asthma admissions

“…Allied health professionals play a central role in supporting this model of care. For example, the multidisciplinary input of a specialist asthma nurse has been shown to improve standards of discharge management for acute patients with asthma [ 19 ]. Furthermore, dedicated physiotherapy input in the management of dysfunctional breathing in patients with difficult asthma has shown a clinically relevant improvement in quality of life in conjunction with an improvement in Nijmegen scores [ 20 ].…”