Characteristics of Oral Corticosteroid Users Among Persons with Asthma on GINA Step 3 Therapy and Above: A Cross-Sectional Study in Portuguese Community Pharmacies

Purpose: Oral corticosteroids (OCS) are frequently used in asthma management but have an important risk-profile. The aim of the study is to characterize and compare the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, treatment regimen and asthma control between OCS users and non-users among the popul...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of asthma and allergy 2022-01, Vol.15, p.1579-1592
Main Authors: Romao, Mariana, Bulhosa, Carolina, Mendes, Zilda, Sousa, Catarina, Silva, Graga, Pereira, Mariana, Bernardo, Filipa, Rodrigues, Antonio Teixeira, Fonseca, Joao A, Sousa, Jaime Correia de
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allergic rhinitis
Analysis
Arthritis
Asthma
asthma control
Body mass index
carat
Chi-square test
Comorbidity
Confidence intervals
Conjunctivitis
Coronaviruses
Corticosteroids
COVID-19
Cross-sectional studies
Data analysis
Disease
Disease control
Drug stores
Drug therapy
Drugstores
Emergency medical care
Gastrointestinal diseases
ics/laba
Medical appointments
oral corticosteroids
Original Research
Osteoporosis
Pandemics
Patients
Pharmaceutical industry
Pharmacy
Regression analysis
Resource utilization
Respiratory agents
Sociodemographics
Steroids
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose: Oral corticosteroids (OCS) are frequently used in asthma management but have an important risk-profile. The aim of the study is to characterize and compare the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, treatment regimen and asthma control between OCS users and non-users among the population of asthma patients ([greater than or equal to]18 years) at GINA step 3 and above treated with a fixed combination of an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting beta-agonist (ICS/LABA). Methods: Cross-sectional study in Portuguese community pharmacies. Data was collected via paper-based interview delivered at the pharmacy (sociodemographic characteristics and asthma treatment regimen, namely ICS/LABA and OCS utilization), followed by a telephonic interview collecting smoking history, comorbidities, body mass index (BMI), history of exacerbations and asthma-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in the previous 12 months, as well as asthma control using the Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT[R]). Results: A total of 347 patients recruited in 98 pharmacies were included in the analysis. Of those, 328 had completed both questionnaires. A quarter of the individuals reported OCS use in the previous 12 months (OCS users), either as add-on therapy (6%) or exacerbation treatment (19%). Patients were mostly females (72%), with an average age of 59.5 years (SD=15.4). OCS users were significantly older and reported more frequently having conjunctivitis (25.9% vs 15.0%), osteoporosis (25.9% vs 13.4%), arthritis (14.6% vs 6.9%), and gastrointestinal disease (16.1% vs 8.1%). OCS users also reported greater urgent HCRU: unscheduled consultations (33.3% vs 9.3%) and emergency department (ED) visits (32.1% vs 12.1%). Both groups presented poor disease control (85.2% of OCS users vs 72.9% of non-OCS users). Conclusion: These results highlight the burden of OCS therapy to asthma patients and the need to improve asthma management, by adopting OCS sparing strategies in this subgroup of patients. Keywords: asthma, ICS/LABA, oral corticosteroids, asthma control, CARAT, COVID-19
ISSN:1178-6965
1178-6965
DOI:10.2147/JAA.S377896