Canadian paediatric asthma action plans and their correlation with current consensus guidelines.

BACKGROUND: While written action plans are standard in the treatment and management of asthma, significant variability exists in the content and format among plans. This variability results in inconsistent educational messages that lend themselves to patient confusion and suboptimal health outcomes.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the content of Canadian paediatric written action plans for consistency in format, layout, zone-defining symptoms, suggested treatment options and adherence to current Canadian asthma care guidelines.
METHODS: Written action plans were sought from Canadian paediatric hospitals, major teaching hospitals associated with academic centres and three national organizations, for a total of 17 plans. An analysis was performed to assess the similarities and differences among plans.
RESULTS: Of all the Canadian paediatric written action plans, 76% were found to consist of three zones and 82% incorporated a traffic light-style design. The plans were divided between symptom-based (59%) and combined symptom- and peak-flow rate approaches (41%). Nominal concordance with the 2012 Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines existed with respect to inhaled corticosteroid and oral corticosteroid therapy. Considerable variability existed among the symptom descriptors that defined each zone. Greater consistency existed among treatment strategies, although the suggested treatment was often difficult to ascertain from the plan templates.
CONCLUSION: Canadian written action plans would be improved by nationally clarifying the symptom descriptors for each zone, adding asthma trigger information to the plans, increasing the emphasis of the common cold as a potential harbinger of worsening asthma symptoms and further incorporating national guideline recommendations.