Abstract
IntroductionAn emergency room visit for asthma is a warning sign of a breakdown in care. The objectives of the PASS project (Safe Severe Asthma Pathway) were to establish an inventory of asthma emergency room stays and to identify the existing strengths and areas for improvement in the patient care pathway.MethodsOne-year emergency room visits for asthma were collected from the medical information departments of 21 healthcare establishments. Hospitalizations were distinguished from outpatient visits. A qualitative study was carried out by interviewing the involved parties.ResultsClose to 3000 (2883) patients were admitted to emergency departments in 2018. Among them, 1350 (47%) were hospitalized in a ward, including 530 (39%) in pulmonology, 170 (13%) in intensive care or resuscitation, and 650 (48%) in other departments. Recognized as important by all 21 centers, six patient pathway quality criteria and are either already in place, planned or in the process of being set up.Conclusion and perspectivesAsthma remains responsible for numerous hospitalizations in emergency units. However, only a small number of the identified quality criteria are actually applied in the centers. Further studies should help to pinpoint the actions needed to apply these criteria on a nationwide scale.