ERJ Open Research (May 2022)
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on severe asthma care in Europe: will care change for good?
- Katrien Eger,
- Dora Paroczai,
- Alison Bacon,
- Florence Schleich,
- Svetlana Sergejeva,
- Arnaud Bourdin,
- Isabelle Vachier,
- Eleftherios Zervas,
- Konstantinos Katsoulis,
- Dimosthenis Papapetrou,
- Konstantinos Kostikas,
- Zsuzsanna Csoma,
- Enrico Heffler,
- Giorgio Walter Canonica,
- Ineta Grisle,
- Kristina Bieksiene,
- Jolita Palacionyte,
- Anneke ten Brinke,
- Simone Hashimoto,
- Frank W.J.M. Smeenk,
- Gert-Jan Braunstahl,
- Simone van der Sar,
- Florin Mihălţan,
- Natalia Nenasheva,
- Marina Peredelskaya,
- Biljana Zvezdin,
- Ivan Čekerevac,
- Sanja Hromiš,
- Vojislav Ćupurdija,
- Zorica Lazic,
- Branislava Milenkovic,
- Sanja Dimic-Janjic,
- Valentyna Yasinska,
- Barbro Dahlén,
- Apostolos Bossios,
- Nikolaos Lazarinis,
- David Aronsson,
- Arne Egesten,
- Abul Kashem Mohammad Munir,
- Lars Ahlbeck,
- Christer Janson,
- Sabina Škrgat,
- Natalija Edelbaher,
- Joerg Leuppi,
- Fabienne Jaun,
- Jochen Rüdiger,
- Nikolay Pavlov,
- Pietro Gianella,
- Reta Fischer,
- Florian Charbonnier,
- Rekha Chaudhuri,
- Steven James Smith,
- Simon Doe,
- Michelle Fawdon,
- Matthew Masoli,
- Liam Heaney,
- Hans Michael Haitchi,
- Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy,
- Olivia Fulton,
- Betty Frankemölle,
- Toni Gibson,
- Karen Needham,
- Peter Howarth,
- Ratko Djukanovic,
- Elisabeth Bel,
- Michael Hyland
Affiliations
- Katrien Eger
- Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Dora Paroczai
- Csongrad County Hospital and Dept of Pulmonology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- Alison Bacon
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
- Florence Schleich
- CHU of Liege, Liege, Belgium
- Svetlana Sergejeva
- The North Estonian Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia
- Arnaud Bourdin
- PhyMedExp, CHU Montpellier, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Isabelle Vachier
- PhyMedExp, CHU Montpellier, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Eleftherios Zervas
- 7th Respiratory Dept, Athens Chest Hospital, Athens, Greece
- Konstantinos Katsoulis
- Pulmonary Dept, 424 Army General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Dimosthenis Papapetrou
- Medical Group of Athens (Paleo Faliro Clinic), Athens, Greece
- Konstantinos Kostikas
- Respiratory Medicine Dept, University Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
- Zsuzsanna Csoma
- National Koranyi Institute for Pulmonology, Budapest, Hungary
- Enrico Heffler
- Personalized Medicine, Asthma and Allergy - IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital - Rozzano (MI), Italy
- Giorgio Walter Canonica
- Personalized Medicine, Asthma and Allergy - IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital - Rozzano (MI), Italy
- Ineta Grisle
- Riga East University Hospital, Riga, Latvia
- Kristina Bieksiene
- Lithuanian University of Health Science, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Jolita Palacionyte
- Lithuanian University of Health Science, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Anneke ten Brinke
- Medical Centre Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
- Simone Hashimoto
- Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Frank W.J.M. Smeenk
- Catharina Ziekenhuis Eindhoven, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Gert-Jan Braunstahl
- Franciscus Gasthuis en Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Simone van der Sar
- Amphia Ziekenhuis, Breda, The Netherlands
- Florin Mihălţan
- National Institute of Pneumology, Bucharest, Romania
- Natalia Nenasheva
- Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Marina Peredelskaya
- Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Biljana Zvezdin
- Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia
- Ivan Čekerevac
- Clinic for Pulmonology, University Clinical Center Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
- Sanja Hromiš
- Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia
- Vojislav Ćupurdija
- Clinic for Pulmonology, University Clinical Center Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
- Zorica Lazic
- Clinic for Pulmonology, University Clinical Center Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
- Branislava Milenkovic
- Clinic for Pulmonology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade Medical faculty, Belgrade, Serbia
- Sanja Dimic-Janjic
- Clinic for Pulmonology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade Medical faculty, Belgrade, Serbia
- Valentyna Yasinska
- Karolinska Severe Asthma Center, Dept of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge and Dept of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Barbro Dahlén
- Karolinska Severe Asthma Center, Dept of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge and Dept of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Apostolos Bossios
- Karolinska Severe Asthma Center, Dept of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge and Dept of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Nikolaos Lazarinis
- Karolinska Severe Asthma Center, Dept of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge and Dept of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- David Aronsson
- Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Dept of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
- Arne Egesten
- Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Dept of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
- Abul Kashem Mohammad Munir
- Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Dept of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
- Lars Ahlbeck
- Allergy Center, Linköping, Sweden
- Christer Janson
- Dept of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Sabina Škrgat
- Dept for Pulmonary Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Natalija Edelbaher
- Pulmonary Dept, University Medical Centre Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
- Joerg Leuppi
- Medical Faculty University of Basel and Cantonal Hospital Baselland, Liestal, Switzerland
- Fabienne Jaun
- Medical Faculty University of Basel and Cantonal Hospital Baselland, Liestal, Switzerland
- Jochen Rüdiger
- Medizin Stollturm, Basel, Switzerland
- Nikolay Pavlov
- Dept of Pulmonary Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Pietro Gianella
- EOC Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland
- Reta Fischer
- Quartier Bleu, Bern, Switzerland
- Florian Charbonnier
- HUG Geneve, Geneva, Switzerland
- Rekha Chaudhuri
- Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, UK
- Steven James Smith
- Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, UK
- Simon Doe
- Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, UK
- Michelle Fawdon
- Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, UK
- Matthew Masoli
- The Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
- Liam Heaney
- Wellcome-Wolfson Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, UK
- Hans Michael Haitchi
- University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Ramesh Kurukulaaratchy
- University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Olivia Fulton
- European Lung Foundation, Sheffield, UK
- Betty Frankemölle
- European Lung Foundation, Sheffield, UK
- Toni Gibson
- European Lung Foundation, Sheffield, UK
- Karen Needham
- European Lung Foundation, Sheffield, UK
- Peter Howarth
- Global Medical Affairs, Specialty Medicine TA, GSK, Brentford, UK
- Ratko Djukanovic
- University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Elisabeth Bel
- Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Michael Hyland
- Plymouth Marjon University, Plymouth, UK
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00065-2022
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 8,
no. 2
Abstract
Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put pressure on healthcare services, forcing the reorganisation of traditional care pathways. We investigated how physicians taking care of severe asthma patients in Europe reorganised care, and how these changes affected patient satisfaction, asthma control and future care. Methods In this European-wide cross-sectional study, patient surveys were sent to patients with a physician-diagnosis of severe asthma, and physician surveys to severe asthma specialists between November 2020 and May 2021. Results 1101 patients and 268 physicians from 16 European countries contributed to the study. Common physician-reported changes in severe asthma care included use of video/phone consultations (46%), reduced availability of physicians (43%) and change to home-administered biologics (38%). Change to phone/video consultations was reported in 45% of patients, of whom 79% were satisfied or very satisfied with this change. Of 709 patients on biologics, 24% experienced changes in biologic care, of whom 92% were changed to home-administered biologics and of these 62% were satisfied or very satisfied with this change. Only 2% reported worsening asthma symptoms associated with changes in biologic care. Many physicians expect continued implementation of video/phone consultations (41%) and home administration of biologics (52%). Conclusions Change to video/phone consultations and home administration of biologics was common in severe asthma care during the COVID-19 pandemic and was associated with high satisfaction levels in most but not all cases. Many physicians expect these changes to continue in future severe asthma care, though satisfaction levels may change after the pandemic.
