An analysis of the pattern of admissions for acute asthma to a respiratory unit which operates a self-referral scheme showed that patients included in such a scheme were admitted to hospital more frequently, and much more quickly. The findings suggested that it is possible to recognise ‘high-risk’ asthmatics and that these patients make full and effective use of well organised self-admission facilities.
An attempt to discover what provoked acute attacks of asthma yielded little useful information except to identify a small group of young women in whom hysterical hyperventilation may have been a relevant aetiological factor.
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