ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The impact of diagnostic work-up in asthma management on medication redemption and probably also drug adherence is largely unknown, but we hypothesized that a confirmed diagnosis of asthma in a hospital-based out-patient clinic increases the willingness to subsequent medication redemption in a real life setting. METHODS: In a retrospective register-based study, 300 medical records of patients referred with possible asthma during one year were examined, of whom 171 had asthma (57%). One-year data on dispensed medicine was collected using the Danish Registry of Medicinal Product Statistics. Patients who had a positive asthma (e.g. bronchial challenge) were classified as verified asthma, whereas unverified asthma refers to doctor's diagnosis of asthma with negative or no diagnostic tests performed. RESULTS: 111 (65%) had a verified diagnosis and patients with verified asthma were more frequently prescribed new therapy compared to those with unverified asthma (88.9% vs. 65.0%, respectively, p < 0.001). No difference was found in first time redemption of prescriptions (72% vs. 64%, respectively, p = 0.3), whereas the second (52% vs. 27%, p = 0.001) and third or more asthma redeemed prescriptions (37% vs. 17%, p = 0.006) showed increased redemption of prescription and probably adherence in the verified compared with the unverified patients with asthma. Furthermore, the use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) was calculated as Percent Days Covered (PDC), which was higher in the verified group compared with the non-verified asthma group (88% vs. 30%, p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Objective verification of a diagnosis of asthma using asthma tests was associated with an improved redemption of prescription.
Subject(s)
Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use , Anti-Asthmatic Agents/therapeutic use , Asthma/diagnosis , Asthma/drug therapy , Medication Adherence/statistics & numerical data , Administration, Inhalation , Adolescent , Adrenal Cortex Hormones/administration & dosage , Adult , Asthma/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/statistics & numerical data , Respiratory Function Tests , Retrospective Studies , Smoking/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Late onset asthma is associated with more severe disease and higher morbidity than in younger asthma patients. This may in part relate to under recognition of asthma in older adults, but evidence on the impact of patient age on diagnostic assessment of asthma in a specialist setting is sparse. AIM: To examine the impact of patient age on the type and proportion of diagnostic tests performed in patients undergoing specialist assessment for asthma. METHODS: Data from a clinical population consisting of all patients consecutively referred over a 12 months period to a specialist clinic for assessment of asthma were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 224 patients with asthma or suspected asthma were referred during the 12 month period; 86 adults aged <35 years, 95 aged 35-55 years and 43 aged >55 years. Symptom characteristics were similar, but adults >35 years had a lower lung function than younger adults, and were more frequently smokers. However, a regression analysis showed that older age was associated with a lower likelihood of diagnostic assessment with a reversibility test, a bronchial challenge test, or measurement of exhaled NO, independently of a known diagnosis of asthma, smoking habits and lung function at referral. CONCLUSION: A lower level of diagnostic assessment was observed already after the age of 35 years, indicating a risk for under diagnosis of asthma at an earlier patient age than previously thought.
