Evaluation of a Telehealth Paediatric Asthma and Allergy Clinic Patient Follow-Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background/objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for health services, particularly during lockdown periods. Asthma is one of the most common childhood conditions, and children with asthma are generally cared for in an outpatient setting. In regional Northwest Tasmania, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, asthma and allergy outpatient clinic services were transferred to a virtual platform in the form of telehealth appointments for routine consultations.

Emergency department childhood anaphylaxis presentations in regional/remote Australia.

Aim: Explore the prevalence of childhood anaphylaxis and clinical presentation of anaphylaxis in children across two regional emergency departments over a 7-year period.

Methods: Retrospective audit of all children (0-18 years) presenting to emergency from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2016 with anaphylaxis, defined by Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy definitions and doctor diagnosis.

Results: Seven hundred and twenty-four patients were identified with allergic diagnosis, 60% were diagnosed with non-anaphylaxis allergic reactions or unspecified urticaria and 40% with anaphylaxis (n = 286).

Successful implementation of evidence-based guidelines in a regional emergency department for children presenting with acute asthma.

Objective: To evaluate the adherence to asthma evidence-based guidelines before and after a quality improvement process.

Design: A controlled trial was conducted at two regional hospitals (intervention and control hospitals). We performed a retrospective pre-intervention audit, followed by a post-intervention audit 1 year after the implementation of evidence-based guidelines.