Prescribing Rate of Inhaled Corticosteroids for Patients with Asthma Based on Analysis of 18 Standard Files Database of Hospitals

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction: The goal for managing asthma in long term are to control asthma and improve quality of  life such as achieving  and  maintaining  the  control  of  symptoms  and normal  activity  levels,  maintaining  pu lmonary  function, preventing asthma exacerbations and asthma mortality, and avoiding  adverse  effects  from  asthma  medications.  Anti -inflammatory treatment is a cornerstone of asthma therapy, however,  previous  studies  founded  that  prescribing  rate  of inhaled corticosteroids  was  low.    This  study  aimed  to determine the prescribing rate of inhaled corticosteroids for outpatients with asthma

Methods: using 18 Standard Files Database  of  11  hospitals  during  the  fiscal  year  2010  and 2011 .SQL program was developed to facilitate analyzing the data.

Results: The  prescribing  rates  of  inhaled corticosteroids for asthma patients were significantly different across age groups. The lowest prescribing rates of inhaled corticosteroids was found among children who aged 10 year old  or  lower.  The  prescribing  rates  ranged  from  3  to  66 percent in the fiscal year 2010 and ranged from 10 to 70 percent in the fiscal year 2011. There were two hospitals that the  prescribing  rates  of  inhaled  corticosteroids  were  lower than  10  percent.  Th e  percentage  of  patients  with  asthma who  received  inhaled  corticosteroids  at  least  4  pieces  per year  ranged  from  4  to  100  percent.  There  were  only  one hospital  that  the  all  of  asthma  patients  received  inhaled corticosteroids at least 4 pieces per year. The re were three hospitals  that  the  percentage  of  asthma  patients  who received  inhaled  corticosteroids  at  least  4  pieces  per  year was quite low (4%). The annually percentage of patients with asthma receiving inhaled corticosteroids across the hospitals ranged  from 14 to 78 percent.

Conclusion: The prescribing rates of inhaled corticosteroids for asthmatic patients varied across hospitals and the prescribing rates in some hospitals were still low. All hospitals should continually implement the activities  that  h elp  to  improve  prescribing  rates  of  inhaled corticosteroid.