RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The prescribing patterns for asthma in general practice setting: Adherence to GINA guidelines
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP P4757
VO 40
IS Suppl 56
A1 Giuseppe Sarno
A1 Sandra Baldacci
A1 Sara Maio
A1 Anna Angino
A1 Franca Martini
A1 Sonia Cerrai
A1 Marzia Simoni
A1 Patrizia Silvi
A1 Marco Borbotti
A1 Anna Paola Pala
A1 Megon Bresciani
A1 Giovanni Viegi
YR 2012
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P4757.abstract
AB Background: General practitioners (GPs) are the first healthcare professionals whom asthma patients refer to for their symptoms. Aim: to assess drug prescription for asthma by GPs and to evaluate prescriptive adherence to GINA guidelines (GL). Methods: 107 GPs throughout Italy provided data on 995 asthmatic patients (45% males, mean age 43.3 ± 17.7 yrs). Results: 48.5% of patients had intermittent (48.5%) or mild persistent asthma (25.3%); 61% had co-morbid allergic rhinitis (AR). More frequently, prescribed medicines were a combination of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus long-acting β2-agonists (LABA) (55%), and short-acting β2-agonists (SABA) as mono-therapy or in combination with ICS (40%). In general, prescriptive appropriateness was higher for patients with only asthma (25%) than for those with asthma+AR (16%). Regardless of concomitant rhinitis, the lowest adherence to GL was found in the mild persistent asthma category (11%), whilst the highest was in the severe persistent group (56.3%). Conclusion: In general, we found low adherence of GPs to GINA GL recommendations, with a trend to over-treatment of intermittent asthma; conversely, more appropriate therapeutic regimens were applied for severe asthma.