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Awareness of General Practitioners of the Current Recommended Management Guidelines for Allergic Rhinitis

Objectives: (1) Determine general practitioners’ (GP) awareness of the guidelines for allergic rhinitis (AR) and identify any factors influencing their awareness of the guidelines. (2) Assess their diagnosis, treatment protocol, and understanding of co-morbidities of AR. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed between November 2012 and July 2013. One hundred one GPs from 23 practices completed questionnaires as part of educational briefing with a response rate of 97% (101/104). One hundred copies met the criteria. Results: Only 7 out of 100 GPs (7%) were aware of the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) or related AR guidelines; therefore, the prevalence of awareness of the guidelines is 0.07 (95% confidence interval 0.03 to 0.14). A further 13% (13/100) knew of local guidelines which were not for AR. Most GPs knew the treatment for mild and moderate-severe AR (93% and 77% respectively). A higher percentage of GPs with previous ear, nose, and throat (ENT) experience (97% and 84% for mild and moderate-severe respectively) were aware of the treatment. Forty-one percent of GPs did not know the link between AR and asthma. A significant number of GPs with previous ENT experience (P < .05) knew the co-morbidities: 89% (33/37), compared to 68% (43/63) of those without ENT experience; they were also more aware of the link with asthma: 65% (24/37) compared to 56% (35/63) of those without ENT experience. Conclusions: Education of GPs, including more ENT experience and workshops, is required to increase awareness of the guidelines. These will improve management of AR.