来自纽约的研究报告表明，哮喘患者急性发作后宜尽快就医，因为就医越快，患者的哮喘发作就越可能在较短的时间内被控制，且可减轻其发作的程度，和降低其需要住院治疗的机率。研究人员对296名哮喘患者的诊疗情况进行分析后发现：

１、约有2/3的患者于哮喘发作后第5天或5天内急诊就医，另有1/3的患者于哮喘发作5天后急诊就医。

２、就医较晚者（指哮喘发作5天后就医者）来急诊室时病情往往较重，且大多数患者由救护车送来就诊和需要住院接受治疗。

上述结果告诉我们，遇哮喘发作者宜建议他或她尽快就医，以改善预后和节省费用。更多资讯，请参阅原文：

Don't Delay Emergency Care When Asthma Flare-Ups Strike

Study found waiting led to worse outcomes, including hospitalization

MONDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Asthma patients who delay seeking emergency medical care when the condition flares can suffer worse outcomes, including hospitalization.

That's the finding of a study that included 296 asthma patients in two New York City emergency departments. They were asked about the duration of their asthma symptoms and their attempts at self-management before they decided to go to the emergency department.

Two-thirds of the patients waited five days or less before they sought medical treatment and one-third waited longer than five days.

Patients who waited longer were more likely to be sicker when they arrived at the emergency department, more likely to arrive by ambulance, and more likely to be admitted to the hospital.

The study also found that patients who waited longer and those who sought treatment earlier were about equally likely to have health insurance (80 percent), to consult a physician before coming to the emergency department (23 percent and 18 percent, respectively), and to have used drugs called beta-agonists (albuterol, for example), which are typically prescribed to treat asthma flare-ups.

The study is slated to be presented Monday at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) international conference in Denver.

"An important aspect of managing asthma is for patients to realize when they can handle exacerbations with help from their regular doctors, and when they need the more intense treatment the emergency room provides," study author Dr. Carol Mancuso, an associate professor of medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery, 　Weill Cornell Medical College, in New York City, said in an ATS news release.

"It is preferable to get help early from regular doctors and avoid the emergency room. However, when intense treatment is necessary, then the sooner the patients present to the emergency room the better, because then they are not as sick and are 　less likely to be hospitalized," she added.

SOURCE: American Thoracic Society, news release, May 16, 2011