More than half of integrated care systems (ICSs) in England don’t have enough capacity to accurately diagnose childhood asthma in line with current guidelines, a survey has found.National clinical guidelines emphasise that doctors should not make a diagnosis of asthma in children based on symptoms alone.The 2024 joint guidelines, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the British Thoracic Society, and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, recommended that the measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels should be the first line diagnostic test in children with a history of asthma.12Asthma should be diagnosed if the FeNO level is 35 parts per billion or more, the guidelines state.However, the charity Asthma + Lung UK has found that the availability of FeNO testing is “patchy,” with many areas either not commissioning enough to cover the whole area or not enough to meet demand.The charity surveyed all of…
