Abstract Oral corticosteroids (OCS) are frequently used for asthma treatment. This medication is highly effective for both acute and chronic diseases, but evidence indicates that indiscriminate OCS use is common, posing a risk of serious side effects and irreversible harm. There is now an urgent need to introduce OCS stewardship approaches, akin to successful initiatives…
AIHW data shows that in 2023, asthma was the 19th leading cause of potentially avoidable deaths for females aged under 75, with 119 deaths or 0.5% of all deaths (crude mortality rate 1.0 per 100,000; ages standardised mortality rate 0.8 per 100,000). The leading cause for females was breast cancer with 1,667 deaths or 7.4%…
According to the National Health Survey 2022, over 1 in four Australians 23.9% had Allergic Rhinitis (AR or hay fever) in 2022: Age 0–14 15–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65 years and over 15–44 25–44 45–64 65–74 75 years and over 0–17 18 years and over 15 years and over Total all ages AR prevalence…
According to AIHW asthma report: Between 2018–19 and 2021–22, ED presentation rates decreased from 300 to 240 per 100,000 population and were higher for females compared with males. In 2021–22, asthma ED presentations rates were around twice as high for: people living in Remote areas compared with people living in Major cities (420 and 215 per 100,000 population, respectively)…
Data collected from AIHW: Ref 1 – asthma hospitalisations: AIHW Principal diagnosis data cubes [Internet]. Separation statistics by principle diagnosis. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/hospitals/principal-diagnosis-data-cubes/contents/data-cubes => open data cube Separation statistics by principal diagnosis for each year; navigate to tab 5-char PDx counts summary and add Sum of Separations for J45 and J46, tab 5-char PDx counts Data for…
TSANZ has published a position statement advocating for the use of DPI or soft-mist inhalers, as ‘green inhalers’. It is a good resource for deep understanding of the carbon footprint of inhalers, current practices/context and their impact. Some facts include: – Over 8 millions of pMDIs were dispensed in Australia in 2022 – Percentage of…
In 2023-2024 there were about 92,000 presentations to the Emergency Department of public hospitals with asthma.* Specifically, 92,288 presentations with asthma were recorded across complexity level A, B and C, of which: – about 44,000 (48%) were admitted (including admission in the emergency department, admission to another hospital ward, including a short stay unit, or…
According to self-reported data from the NHS 2022, amongst people with asthma aged 18 and over: – 19% reported that asthma interfered with daily activities 2 or more times in the past 4 weeks (vs 23% in 2017-18), including going to school or work, playing with friends, exercising, getting around places etc. – 8.8% experienced…