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Management of asthma in general practice
1Department of Thoracic Medicine, Guy's Hospital, London, U.K.
Respiratory Medicine
|January 1, 1989
Summary
Asthma management in general practice often involved sub-optimal therapy, with infrequent use of inhaled steroids and beta agonists. Further studies are needed to confirm under-treatment in adult asthma patients.
Area of Science:
- General Practice
- Respiratory Medicine
- Clinical Audit
Background:
- Asthma management requires appropriate medication based on severity and symptoms.
- General practices are key sites for managing chronic respiratory conditions like asthma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To audit the current management of asthma in adult patients across two large general practices.
- To assess the relationship between prescribed asthma therapy and patient's objective disease severity and symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective audit of asthma patient records in two UK general practices.
- Analysis of prescribed medications, including inhaled beta agonists and steroids.
- Correlation of therapy with reported asthma severity and symptom extent.
Main Results:
- Prescribed therapy generally aligned with asthma severity and symptoms.
- Significant under-prescription of prophylactic inhaled beta agonists was observed.
- Inhaled corticosteroids were prescribed to only one-third of patients, and less than half of severely affected patients.
Conclusions:
- Adult asthma patients in these general practices appeared to be relatively under-treated.
- Further prospective studies with compliance verification are recommended to confirm these findings.