Difficult to control asthma due to non-adherence
According to a new study conducted by Dr. Liam G. Heaney and colleagues form the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, approximately five percent of patients have a difficult to control asthma. Their study further indicated that prescription with high doses of steroids did not help in persistent symptoms and frequent flare-ups.
The team discovered that this has something to do with non-adherence of the patients to their anti-asthma medication.
Dr. Heaney’s team studied several patients with asthma at the Northern Ireland Regional Difficult Asthma Service. At first, all patients denied non-adherence to their anti-asthma therapy. Nevertheless, the team discovered that 35% of the patients were not able to fill in more than half of their inhaled steroids.
Meanwhile, 45% of patients taking oral prednisolone showed that they are non-adherent as indicated by blood tests results.
After presenting these results to the patients under study, 88 percent of them finally admitted their poor compliance.
Furthermore, researchers noted that women were more likely to be lax in taking their asthma controller medication as prescribed. This observation was published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Heaney and colleagues concluded that if patients take regular preventive therapy for their asthma, their condition would improve significantly.
From Reuters Health:
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with difficult-to-control asthma are often not taking their anti-asthma medication as prescribed by their doctor, new study findings indicate.
