[Prescriptions for Asthma and COPD in Germany for the Years 2007, 2010, 2013, 2015 - 2017]

Numbers of prescriptions of the most important substances/combinations for the treatment of asthma and COPD have been extracted out of the sum of all prescriptions of a statistically relevant number of family physicians, internal medicine specialists and pneumologists and analysed.Prescriptions of inhalation drugs showed an increase and those of oral drugs a decrease in therapy of asthma and COPD over a period of 10 years.With asthma there was a clear increase in the prescription of anti-inflammatory substances and a decrease in that of short-acting bronchodilators. There was an increase in prescriptions of short-acting beta agonists in relation to prescriptions of short-acting muscarine antagonists and short-acting beta agonists/short-acting muscarine antagonists, which showed a decrease. For the therapy of COPD, there was a clear increase in the prescription of long-acting bronchodilators and a very slight tendency towards a decrease of ICS-containing drugs. This decrease was so slight that we still have to fear extensive overuse of ICS in COPD. Prescriptions of short-acting bronchodilators increased minimally, and whereas there was an increase in prescriptions of short-acting beta-agonists, there was a decrease in short-acting muscarine antagonists and short-acting beta agonists/short-acting muscarine antagonists.