Skip to main content
  1. Right Decisions
  2. GGC - Clinical Guidelines
  3. Paediatrics
  4. Back
  5. Emergency Medicine (Paediatric)
  6. Acute Asthma Management, Children Under 2 years, Emergency Department, Paediatrics (334)
Important: please update your RDS app to version 4.7.3 Details with newsletter below.

Please update your RDS app to v4.7.3

We asked you in January to update to v4.7.2.  After the deployment planned for 27th February, this new update will be needed to ensure that you are able to download RDS toolkits even when the RDS website is not available. We will wait until as many users as possible have downloaded the new version before switching off the old system for app downloads and moving entirely to the new approach.

To check your current RDS version, click on the three dots bottom right of the RDS app screen. This takes you to a “More” page where you will see the version number. 

To update to the latest release:

 On iPhones – go to the Apple store, click on your profile icon top right, scroll down to see the apps waiting to be updated and update the RDS app.

On Android phones – these can vary, but try going to the Google Play store, click on your profile icon top right, click on “Manage apps and device”, select and update the RDS app.

Right Decision Service newsletter: February 2025

Welcome to the February 2025 update from the RDS team

1.     Next release of RDS

 

A new release of RDS is planned (subject to outcomes of current testing) for week beginning 24th February. This will deliver:

 

  • Fixes to mitigate the recurring glitches with the RDS admin area and the occasional brief user interface outages which have arisen following implementation of the new distributed technology infrastructure in December 2024.

 

  • Capability to embed content from Google calendar, Google Maps, Daily Motion, Twitter feeds, Microsoft Stream into RDS pages.

 

  • Capability to include simple multiplication in RDS calculators.

 

The release will also incorporate a number of small fixes, including:

  • Exporting of form within Medicines Sick Day Guidance in polypharmacy toolkit
  • Links to redundant content appearing in search in some RDS toolkits
  • Inclusion of accordion headers alongside accordion text in search result snippets.
  • Feedback form on mobile app.
  • Internal links on mobile app version of benzo tapering tool

 

We will let you know when the date and time for the new release are confirmed.

 

2.     New RDS developments

There is now the capability to publish toolkits on the web with left hand side navigation rather than tiles on the homepage. To use this feature, turn on the “Toggle navigation panel” option at the top of the Page settings menu at toolkit homepage level – see below. Please note that publication to downloadable mobile app for this type of navigation is still under development.

The Benzodiazepine tapering tool (https://rightdecisions.scot.nhs.uk/benzotapering) is now available as part of the RDS toolkit for the national benzodiazepine prescribing guidance developed by the Scottish Government Effective Prescribing team. The tool uses this national guidance developed with a wide-ranging multidisciplinary group. This should be used in combination with professional judgement and an understanding of the needs of the individual patient.

3.     Archiving and version control and new RDS Search and Browse interface

Due to the intensive work Tactuum has had to undertake on the new technology infrastructure has pushed back the delivery dates again and some new requirements have come out of the recent user acceptance testing. It now looks likely to be an April release for the search and browse interface. The archiving and version control functionality may be released earlier. We’ll keep you posted.

4.     Statistics

At the end of January, Olivia completed the generation of the latest set of usage statistics for all RDS toolkits. If you would like a copy of the stats for your toolkit, please contact Olivia.graham@nhs.scot .

 

5.     Review of content past its review date

We have now generated reports of all RDS toolkit content that has exceeded its review date by 6 months or more. We will be in touch later this month with toolkit owners and editors to agree the plan for updating or withdrawing out of date content.

 

6.     Toolkits in development

Some important toolkits in development by the RDS team include:

  • National CVD prevention pathways – due for release end of March 2025.
  • National respiratory pathways, optimal cancer diagnostic pathways and cancer prehabilitation pathways from the Centre for Sustainable Delivery. We will shortly start work on the national cancer referral pathways, first version due for release via RDS around end of June 2025.
  • HIS Quality of Care Review toolkit – currently in final stages of quality assurance.

 

The RDS team and other information scientists in HIS have also been producing evidence summaries for the Scottish Government Realistic Medicine team, to inform development of national guidance around Procedures of Limited Clinical Value. This guidance will in due course be translated into an RDS toolkit.

 

7. Training sessions for new editors (also serve as refresher sessions for existing editors) will take place on the following dates:

  • Friday 28th February 12-1 pm
  • Tuesday 11th March 4-5 pm

 

To book a place, please contact Olivia.graham@nhs.scot, providing your name, organisation, job role, and level of experience with RDS editing (none, a little, moderate, extensive.)

 

To invite colleagues to sign up to receive this newsletter, please signpost them to the registration form  - also available in End-user and Provider sections of the RDS Learning and Support area.   If you have any questions about the content of this newsletter, please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot  If you would prefer not to receive future newsletters, please email Olivia.graham@nhs.scot and ask to be removed from the circulation list.

With kind regards

 

Right Decision Service team

Healthcare Improvement Scotland

 

 

Acute Asthma Management, Children Under 2 years, Emergency Department, Paediatrics (334)

Warning

Objectives

The diagnosis of acute asthma in early childhood can be difficult. Intermittent wheezing attacks are often due to viral infection and the response to asthma medication is inconsistent. The differential diagnosis of wheeze in this age group includes pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

The possibility of an underlying congenital anomaly or chronic condition should also be considered.

These guidelines are intended for those children < 2 years who are thought to have asthma causing acute wheeze. They should not be used as a guide for treating bronchiolitis/other conditions.

Scope

This guideline should be used by healthcare professionals involved in the care of children less than two years of age that have acute asthma.

November 2023: This guidance is currently under review as it has gone beyond the standard review date. It reflects best practice at the time of authorship / last review and remains safe for use. If there are any concerns regarding the content then please consult with senior clinical staff to confirm.

Children Aged < 2 Years

  • If a patient has symptoms and signs across categories, always treat according to their most severe features
  • Most infants have recession with audible wheeze but are not distressed
  • MDI + facemask/spacer is as effective as, if not better than, nebulisers for treating mild to moderate asthma in children aged < 2 years
  • Steroid tablets in conjunction with β2-agonists have been shown to reduce hospital admission rates when used in the ED

Asthma treatment flow chart: Children aged < 2 years

Based on British Thoracic Society, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network British Guideline on the Management of Asthma. 2009 revision[1]

Prescribing prednisolone for patients being admitted to the wards with acute asthma:

Prescribing prednisolone for patients being admitted to the wards with acute asthma:

  • If 1st dose (in emergency department) given between 8am and midnight, prescribe the 2nd dose for 8am the following morning

  • If 1st dose (in emergency department) given between midnight and 8am, the next dose should be prescribed at 2pm the same day, to ensure that the second dose is given within 24 hours of the first dose.
1st Dose Prescribed (given in emergency department) 2nd and Subsequent Doses Prescribed (given on the ward)
02/12/2010 @ 10pm 03/12/2010 @ 8am
05/12/2010 @ 3am 05/12/2010 @ 2pm

Editorial Information

Last reviewed: 01/12/2015

Next review date: 31/10/2024

Author(s): Scott Hendry / Steven Foster.

Approved By: Clinical Effectiveness

Reviewer name(s): V Choudhery .

Document Id: 334

Related resources
References

Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network. British guideline on the management of asthma (SIGN 153). 2016. Edinburgh: SIGN.