Appropriate Antimicrobial Use for Asthma Exacerbation (PAUSE)

Asthma is a common respiratory condition that affects the airways, impacting an estimated 5.4 million people in the UK and resulting in around 1,500 deaths every year. People with asthma may experience acute asthma exacerbations (AAEs).

National and international guidelines recommend against the use of antibiotics for asthma exacerbations unless there is clear clinical or test evidence indicating a bacterial infection. Despite current guidelines, evidence suggests that antibiotics are frequently prescribed for acute asthma exacerbations, especially in primary care settings.

Widespread use of antibiotics contributes to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a situation where microbes, like bacteria, become resistant to the drugs designed to eliminate them. If not addressed, AMR is a critical global health threat with potentially severe consequences.

This discrepancy between current guidelines and evidence on unnecessary antibiotic prescribing in AAEs highlights the need to better understand antibiotic prescribing behaviour for AAEs and develop an intervention to support more targeted use of antibiotics in people with asthma in primary care.

This PhD project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre Southampton and Asthma & Lung UK.

This project is led by Nour Odeh, a clinical research practitioner by background and NIHR BRC-funded PhD student.

Supervisors

• Prof Nick Francis
• Prof Ingrid Muller
• Prof Kay Wang
• Dr Kate Lippiett

Public contributors

• Christine Rutherford
• Susannah Fleming

How will PAUSE study help

The study team will develop a behavioural intervention that reduces the unnecessary use of antibiotics for acute respiratory symptoms in people with asthma in primary care settings.
 

Research stages
 

1. explore the views and experiences of primary care and people with asthma/parents of children with asthma on factors influencing antibiotic use in acute respiratory symptoms through conducting qualitative interviews.
2. develop a behavioural intervention to support the reduction of unnecessary use of antibiotics for acute respiratory symptoms in primary care.
3. optimise intervention development using think-aloud interviews with primary healthcare professionals, people with asthma/ parents of children with asthma.
    

Study protocol

Please see the study protocol if you would like more information about the study.
 

How to get involved

Primary care prescribers
Are you a primary care prescriber who is involved in making decisions about antibiotic prescribing for people with asthma? We would like to talk to you about your experiences of managing acute respiratory symptoms of people with asthma.

Register your interest in the study and find out more.

People with asthma/ parents of children with asthma
Have you been contacted by your GP surgery to participate in the study as you or someone you care for has asthma and has recently been given antibiotics for a suspected chest infection or asthma flareup? We would like to talk to you about your experience with asthma.

Register your interest in the study and find out more.