The use of and attitude to peak flow measurement in general practice.

The use of and attitudes to peak flow meters and monitoring were surveyed in a random sample of general practitioners in Northern Ireland. There was an 87% response. Almost all general practitioners had a peak flow meter or spirometer in their practice but only 48% usually took a meter on home visits. The meters were more likely to be used for the diagnosis and management of asthma than chronic obstructive airways disease. General practitioners felt that meters were more useful when used in the consulting room than for domiciliary monitoring and that domiciliary monitoring was more useful in the management than the diagnosis of asthma. Although 79% of general practitioners felt that domiciliary peak flow measurement was useful for the management of asthma, only 3% of all asthmatic patients were using it. General practitioners' attitudes to peak flow monitoring are positive but they are not actually using them as much as they could.