Bibi Waleema Bacchus-Ali¹, Saleem N Hamilah²*, Donna D Gardner³, Shawn Legal⁴ and Elizabeth Miles⁵

¹Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Doctor-in-Charge, Asthma/COPD Clinic and Spirometry Lab, GPHC, Head, Guyana Asthma/COPD Education and Spirometry Program (GASP), Governor of Guyana, Respiratory Care, International Council for Respiratory Care (ICRC), Program Lead, BSc. Respiratory Care, University of Guyana
²Senior Respiratory Therapist, RC Lecturer, Deputy Head, Respiratory Care Department, Ibn Al-Nafis University, Yemen, Lecturer, Respiratory Care Department, 21 September University of Medical & Applied Sciences, Yemen
³Chief Research Officer at Allergy and Asthma Network, Guyana
⁴ENT Specialist, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Guyana
⁵Principal Teaching Fellow and Programme Lead, MSc Allergy, Southampton University, UK

*Corresponding Author: Saleem N Hamilah, Senior Respiratory Therapist, RC Lecturer, Deputy Head, Respiratory Care Department, Ibn Al-Nafis University, Yemen, Lecturer, Respiratory Care Department, 21 September University of Medical & Applied Sciences, Yemen. Email: saleemhamilah@gmail.com

Received: April 15, 2026; Published: May 31, 2026

Background: Allergic rhinitis is a common health burden among asthma patients that is unrecognized and not managed optimally.

Research Questions: In patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma, what are the gaps in allergic rhinitis management that can be improved with British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) guideline-based care?

Methods: Data was extracted from the Guyana Asthma/COPD Education and Spirometry Program (GASP) Database onto a Microsoft Office Excel ^TM. Percentage, mean, and standard deviation were calculated using Microsoft Office Excel™. The data were presented using bar graphs, histogram, and funnel chart.

Results: Of the 367 patients with AR, 38% had mild persistent AR, 28% had moderate-severe intermittent AR, 20% had moderate to severe persistent AR, and 14% had mild intermittent AR. Of the 367 patients, 28% reported overall improvement with oral antihistamines. Of the patients who improved with oral antihistamines, a majority (61%) had mild intermittent AR. Of those who self-medicated with oral antihistamines and add-on AR treatment, 90% reported symptom resolution. Of the 367 patients, only 15% had been educated on AR triggers while 0% had an action plan done, Additionally, 40% of the 367 patients missed days from work/school and 85% experienced a burden on quality of life. Service goal of 100% was achieved for diagnostics, 15% for AR education, 0% for action plan, 83% for treatment for mild intermittent AR, 22% for mild persistent AR, 5% for moderate-severe intermittent AR and 6% for moderate-severe persistent AR.

Conclusion: Management of AR in the Georgetown Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is variable and does not follow BSACI or any other evidence-based guidelines, resulting in poor AR control and low quality of life for these patients. This clinical audit did not meet its service goal for education, action plan or treatment, only for diagnostics.

Keywords: Allergic Rhinitis; Asthma; BSACI Guidelines; AR Management; Quality of Life; Oral Antihistamines; Clinical Audit

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Citation

Citation: Bibi Waleema Bacchus-Ali., et al. “A Clinical Audit of Allergic Rhinitis Management in the Asthma Clinic at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation in Guyana”. Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 10.6 (2026): 19–35.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Bibi Waleema Bacchus-Ali., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.