Particularly in Europe, more than half the asthmatic treated patients have not well-controlled asthma. The survey in this study aims at investigating how Italian allergists approach asthmatic patients, to highlight pitfalls and unmet needs concerning real-life asthma management.
16 item web anonymous questionnaire was available to all allergists who visited the web site of SIAAIC. Those who wished to give their contribution had the opportunity to answer about epidemiology, risk factors, treatment approaches, and adherence to therapy.
144 allergists in total answered the survey. 54% of the allergists in total reported up to 10 patient visits per week and 35.3% between 10 and 30. The most reported reasons that required the follow-up visits are routine check-up, and worsening of symptoms. Nocturnal apnoeas, gastroesophageal reflux, and obesity are the most important comorbidities/risk factors of poorly controlled asthma. Bronchial hyper-responsiveness, increased NO levels and reduced exercise tolerance are the most important indicators of asthma severity.
The study concluded through its findings that the allergists are involved in the management of asthma, regularly seeing their patients. Co-morbidities are frequent in asthmatic patients and may impact negatively on disease control, thus identifying patients who need more careful and strict monitoring.
Reference: https://clinicalmolecularallergy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12948-017-0067-2
