Helen Ashdown

BM BCh (Oxon) MA (Cantab) MRCP MRCGP DCH PGDip (Health Research)

Clinical Research Fellow

General Practitioner
Janet Vaughan Tutor in Clinical Medicine, Somerville College

My principal research interests are in respiratory disease, diagnosis and diagnostic accuracy studies.

Previous projects have been diverse, including antibiotic prescribing practice in conjunctivitis, childhood immunisation and even whether speed bumps can be a useful diagnostic tool for appendicitis.

I am currently on working on studies investigating diagnostic accuracy of medical devices available for purchase by the public, and also research in influenza in children, looking at whether children who are at higher risk of complications of influenza should be given antibiotics during episodes of flu-like illness.

In October 2014, I started a DPhil funded by the National Institute for Health Research, in which I will investigate whether we can use near-patient testing including blood eosinophil count to predict responsiveness to inhaled steroids for long-term management of patients with COPD in primary care.

Recent publications

Delivering high value therapies in COPD: the secret is in the marketing.
Journal article

Ashdown H. and Steiner M., (2019), Eur Respir J, 53
Response
Journal article

Moore A. et al, (2019), Chest, 155
CHARACTERISATION OF BLOOD EOSINOPHILS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH DISEASE OUTCOMES IN STEROID-NAIVE COPD PATIENTS IN PRIMARY CARE: DESCRIPTIVE COHORT STUDY USING THE CLINICAL PRACTICE RESEARCH DATALINK
Conference paper

Ashdown HF. et al, (2018), THORAX, 73, A232 - A232
USE OF BLOOD EOSINOPHILS TO PREDICT OUTCOMES UNDER INHALED MAINTENANCE TREATMENT IN STEROID-NAIVE COPD PATIENTS IN PRIMARY CARE: NEW USER COHORT STUDY USING THE CLINICAL PRACTICE RESEARCH DATALINK
Conference paper

Ashdown HF. et al, (2018), THORAX, 73, A169 - A169
Endometriosis
Chapter

(2018), 4

More publications