Assessment of Factors Affecting Symptom Control in Asthmatic Patients

Abstract

Objective: To assess the level of symptoms control achieved by Asthmatic Patients in Pakistan and the associated factors making an impact on symptom control. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out at Darul Sehat Hospital from December 2018 till December 2019. All patients of irrespective of age and gender diagnosed as bronchial asthma were consecutively included. Symptom control was assessed according to Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) assessment tool. Prevalence of asthma symptom control was determined while association of risk factors with uncontrolled asthma was also evaluated. Results: Of 113 patients the mean age was 36.8 +-16.6 years. There were 76 (67.3%) patients had uncontrolled asthma. A significant association of uncontrolled asthma was observed with incorrect inhaler technique (p value of 0.039) more than 10 years asthma duration (p value <0.001) lack of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use (p value 0.004) Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) (p value <0.001) more than 1 episode of asthma exacerbation in last 12 months (p value <0.001) and with high use of short acting beta agonists (p value <0.001). Conclusion: A higher prevalence of uncontrolled asthma was observed in our cohort with significant association of uncontrolled asthma with poor inhaler technique lack of ICS use GERD more than 10 years asthma duration and more than 1 asthma exacerbation episode in last 12 months.

Keywords

• Asthma
• Bronchial asthma
• Antiasthmatics