The impact of telemedicine in healthcare demand by patients with severe persistent asthma

Introduction: Asthma is a clinical condition associated with recurring airway obstruction, airway hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation. Asthma and bronchiectasis are separate illnesses. However, both disorders occur in some patients e.g., ABPA. Rare data exist for determining the impact of asthma aggravation by bronchiectasis. Present study aims to find such association. Objective: To determine the prevalence of undiagnosed bronchiectasis in patients suffering from severe persistent asthma. Study Design: Cross sectional/descriptive study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pulmonology, Al-Aleem Medical College/Gulab Devi Teaching Hospital Lahore from 1st July 2020 to 31st December 2020. Methodology: One hundred and twenty five patients of severe persistent asthma were enrolled. Patients were aged between 20-75 years. Patients details demographics age, sex and body mass index were recorded after taking written consent. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest was done among complete patients to recognized undiagnosed bronchiectasis. Prevalence of undiagnosed bronchiectasis was assessed among cases. Results: Sixty five (54.17%) were females and the rest were males 55 (45.83%). Mean age of the patients were 40.26±9.55 years with mean BMI 25.16±8.66 kg/m2. 35 (28%) patients had smoking history. Majority of the patients 55 (44%) were aged between 45-75 years of age. Prevalence of undiagnosed bronchiectasis was found in 48 (38.4%) patients of severe persistent asthma. Conclusion: The prevalence of undiagnosed bronchiectasis was significantly high among patients of long disease duration suffering from persistent asthma. Keywords: Severe persistent, Asthma, Undiagnosed bronchiectasis

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Still Fighting for Breath: a patient survey of the challenges and impact of severe asthma

ERJ Open Research ◽

10.1183/23120541.00076-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 00076-2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Paraskevi Katsaounou ◽

Mikaela Odemyr ◽

Otto Spranger ◽

Michael E. Hyland ◽

Claus Kroegel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Severe Asthma ◽

Online Survey ◽

Persistent Asthma ◽

Patient Survey ◽

Management Support ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Global Initiative For Asthma ◽

Severe Persistent Asthma ◽

Global Initiative ◽

The Impact

We conducted a large global survey, Still Fighting for Breath, in patients with severe persistent asthma, 10 years after the Fighting for Breath survey to assess the impact of disease on patients' lives and to determine if control and management have changed in recent years.Data were collected from 1333 adults (aged >18 years) and caregivers of children (aged 6–17 years) with severe persistent asthma from nine countries through an online survey conducted in 2016 by GfK.A decade after the first survey, our results showed that the impact of severe asthma has not changed significantly and a high proportion of patients with severe asthma remain inadequately controlled. A large discrepancy was observed between the proportion of patients who perceived their asthma to be well controlled (42%) and the proportion of patients who reported to be well controlled as per the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) assessment (6%). Although most patients perceived their asthma to be controlled, many experienced frequent symptoms that affected their daily lives.Thus, there is a need for improved management (support and strategies) of patients with severe persistent asthma and improved coordination of efforts that would enable these patients to achieve better disease control.

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