Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
9th European Congress of Pharmacology, Athens, Yunanistan, 23 - 26 Haziran 2024, ss.291
Introduction: Asthma is known to affect up to one-fifth of the population in different countries [1]. Establishing protocols in compliance with asthma guidelines is crucial for rational treatment. We aimed to evaluate the admissions to a tertiary care center for asthma, where a medication protocol was set up. Methods: Direct or indirect admissions of ≥18-year-old patients to the pulmonary medicine department of a tertiary healthcare institution in Istanbul between 01.08.2022 and 31.08.2023, diagnosed with asthma and subsequently prescribed a medication treatment protocol, were retrospectively examined (n=1700). The patients were stratified into two age groups, non-elderly (18-64 years old) and elderly (≥65 years old), and their demographic characteristics were assessed. The distribution of the drugs prescribed to the patients was determined according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification. Additionally, the details of the medication protocol were compared by patient demographics. Results: The average age of the patients admitted for asthma and had medication protocols created for was 54.3±15.7 years, of which 72.8% were non-elderly and 81.4% were women. Most of the protocols (93.2%) included inhaler drugs (ATC code: R03A/R03B), which were more frequently prescribed to women (93.8% vs. 90.5% to men, p<0.05). A minority of the protocols (2.0%) contained drugs unrelated to the respiratory system (drugs with an ATC-1 code other than R) and 10.8% contained additional diagnoses other than asthma. Protocols with additional diagnoses were created more frequently for women (11.6% vs. 7.3% for men, p<0.05). There was no difference between non-elderly and the elderly in the comparisons (p>0.05). The most commonly encountered drug in the protocols was the combination of salmeterol/fluticasone (34.4%), which was the same in the breakdowns by gender and age groups. Conclusions: Our study revealed that adult patients admitted to a tertiary healthcare center with asthma diagnosis were frequently prescribed combinations of inhaled long-acting beta-2 agonists and glucocorticoids in accordance with the guidelines. Moreover, it was shown that medication prescribing patterns for asthma differed by gender but not by age group.
[1] Global Initiative for Asthma. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention, 2022. Available from: https://ginasthma.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GINA-Main-Report2022-FINAL-22-07-01-WMS.pdf