Poor care causes needless asthma deaths: Report

Many asthma sufferers are dying needlessly because of poor medical care and complacency among doctors and patients, according to a report published Tuesday by British medical experts.

Researchers from the Royal College of Physicians examined 195 asthma deaths, including 28 children, and found at least one major preventable factor in around 70 percent of cases, Xinhua reported.

Asthma sufferers were not managing their disease well because of complacency or lack of knowledge, and medical staff did not recognise life-threatening danger signs, according to the report.

During the final attack of asthma, 45 percent of the 195 people were known to have died without seeking medical assistance or before emergency medical care could be provided. Fifty-seven percent of them were not recorded as being under specialist supervision during the 12 months prior to death.

The experts also found evidence of excessive prescribing of reliever medication, and evidence of inappropriate prescribing of bronchodilator inhalers.

The report called for an end to "complacency" around asthma care, and recommended that better monitoring and improved education for doctors, nurses, patients and carers should be implemented in future.