Prescribed therapy for asthma: therapeutic ratios and outcomes

Background:
Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the cornerstone of asthma therapy. The ICS-to-total-asthma-medication ratios, calculated from claims data, indicate potentially risky disease management in asthma. Our aim was to assess the utility of ICS-to-total-asthma-medication ratios from primary care electronic medical records (EMRs) in detecting patients at risk of asthma exacerbation, as approached by prescription of oral corticosteroids and/or antibiotics.
Methods:
Retrospective cohort studies were identified, using the Health Improvement Network general practice database (THIN, United Kingdom) and the Cegedim Longitudinal Patient Data (France). We selected asthma patients aged 16–40 years, with ≥ 4 prescriptions for respiratory medications in 2007 and ≥ 1 prescription in 2008. For each country, three groups were defined according to ratio value in 2008: 0% (non-ICS users),

Source: BMC Family Practice - April 14, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Laurent LaforestIdlir LicajGilles DevouassouxIrene ErikssonPascal CailletGérard ChatteManon BelhassenEric Van Ganse Source Type: research