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- Title
Trends in the Use of Antiasthmatics in Spain (1989-1998).
- Authors
García del Pozo, J.; Mateos Campos, R.; García del Pozo, V.; Benet Rodriguez, M.; Carvajal, A.; Vera Sánchez, E.
- Abstract
Bronchial asthma, one of the most common illnesses in the Western world (10% of children and 3 to 5% of the adult population are affected), is increasing in prevalence and severity and is becoming a public health problem in the developing world.The therapeutic programme for subjects with asthma includes recommendations for modifying their environment as well as employing a drug regimen designed to alleviate symptoms, minimise exacerbations and improve quality of life. An international consensus report on the diagnosis and management of asthma was released in 1992. The recommendations contained in this report emphasised the regular use of anti-inflammatory drugs (preferably inhaled corticosteroids) as first-line therapy for anything more severe than occasional mild asthma and a shift in emphasis away from reliance on bronchodilators.In Spain, the cost of antiasthmatics for inhalation has increased: in 1998 they were the third most costly pharmacological subgroup for the National Health System (after lipid-lowering drugs and ACE inhibitors) representing more than 283.23 million Euros ($US248.95 million). To what extent this increase in cost resulted from an update to the recent guidelines remains unclear. Therefore, we have conducted a study to ascertain the pattern and trend of antiasthmatic drug use over an extended period of time (1989 to 1998), and to determine the possible influence that recent evidence about asthma treatment has had upon that use.
- Subjects
SPAIN; ANTIASTHMATIC agents; ASTHMATICS
- Publication
Clinical Drug Investigation, 2002, Vol 22, Issue 10, p709
- ISSN
1173-2563
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2165/00044011-200222100-00008