Helen Ashdown

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.