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Results from Phase One of Two-Phase Examination of U.S. Asthma Control
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and TORONTO, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nearly half of adult Americans with asthma and more than a quarter of children with asthma who responded to a nationally representative survey do not have their disease well controlled, according to the Asthma USA survey, which was presented today at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society meeting in Toronto.
The survey found that not well controlled asthma had significant medical consequences. Adults with uncontrolled asthma were more likely to require treatment with oral corticosteroids, visit the emergency department or be admitted to the hospital than those whose asthma was well controlled. Children with uncontrolled asthma were also more likely to require urgent medical care. Past research has shown that uncontrolled asthma can put patients at risk for increased asthma symptoms, sudden asthma attacks, hospitalizations and even death.
"We have made quantum leaps in asthma treatment in the last decade, but the Asthma USA results demonstrate that enormous numbers of patients are living with asthma that is still not well controlled, putting them at significant health risk," said David Stempel, MD, director of clinical medicine for GlaxoSmithKline. "These findings remind us that improvements in care have not been uniform and underscore the critical need to improve education for both patients and healthcare providers in the management of asthma."
According to the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, signs of poor asthma control include waking at night with asthma symptoms, trips to the hospital and the need for quick-relief medication such as albuterol more than twice a week for asthma symptoms.
The survey examined responses from more than 81,500 households, with
asthma control assessed with the Asthma Control Test
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