Desktop Helper – A practical guide to improve difficult-to-manage asthma in primary care 

The IPCRG’s desktop helper on difficult-to-manage asthma is available to download. This was freshly published in April 2024. 

Difficult-to-manage asthma is categorised as a person facing these difficulties despite the (apparent) best possible treatment being in place: 

• Daytime asthma symptoms, more than twice/week 

• Any night awakening due to asthma-related symptoms 

• More than two exacerbations per year requiring rescue systemic corticosteroids1 

• Frequent use of SABA (≥3 canisters per year or ≥3 times per week) 

• Poor control despite prescription of high-dose ICS often in combination with LABA/LAMA or use of OCS1 

• Frequent primary care out-of-hours contacts (one or more per month). 

ICS Inhaled corticosteroid, SABA short-acting beta-agonist, LABA long-acting beta-agonist, LAMA long-acting muscarinic antagonist, OCS oral corticosteroid 

Authors include Jaime Correia de Sousa, Dermot Ryan, Garry McDonald, Hanna Sandelowsky, Katarina Stavric, Liam G Heaney, Luís Carvalho, Siân Williams 

Reviewers are Steve Moritz, Vibeke Backer 

The editor is Ian Wright 

Endorsed by European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airway Diseases (EUFOREA) 

Funding: The desktop helper was funded from an educational grant from GSK plc. who provided a grant to support the development, typesetting, printing, translation and associated costs but did not contribute to the concept or content of this document.