Abstract
BackgroundThe management of the reversible airways obstruction forms the cornerstone of quality asthma management. The aim of this study was to assess the level of control for asthma in adult patients, using a cross sectional study design. The assessment of control for asthma was based on the ACQ.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to measure the level of control for asthma among patients with asthma who volunteered and were reporting to Chitungwiza Central Hospital. We interviewed and conducted spirometry (lung function testing) on 400 adult patients with asthma. We used the ACQ questions to interview patients. A trained health care provider performed spirometry using the Koko Legend spirometer after meeting all the ambient conditions as outlined in the American Thoracic Society guidelines.ResultsOur study assessed levels of asthma control among 400 adult patients with physician-diagnosed asthma. The results showed that 248 (62%) participants had uncontrolled asthma. The median age of the adult patients who had uncontrolled asthma was 35 years (IQR: 27–44). Using the clinical practice cut-point of 0.75 for controlled asthma, only 152 (38%) were controlled, while 72 (18.8%), 50 (12.5%) and 123 (30.7%) were mildly uncontrolled, moderately uncontrolled and very uncontrolled respectively. Among participants who were widowed had uncontrolled asthma (p = 0.003) while most of the married 103 (67.8%) had controlled asthma (p = 0.018). The findings of the study showed that all the items on the ACQ were significantly different in asthma mean scores (p ≤ 0.0001).ConclusionWe concluded that most asthma patients that participated in the study were uncontrolled. We therefore, recommend an evaluation of factors associated with poor asthma control in order to improve asthma care and achieve good asthma control outcomes.
Highlights
The management of the reversible airways obstruction forms the cornerstone of quality asthma management
Study design and setting We conducted a descriptive cross sectional survey using an Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) to assess the levels of asthma control among adult patients attending a research clinic at Chitungwiza Central Hospital in Zimbabwe
A total of 400 participants 261 (65.3% females) with asthma participated in the study
Summary
The management of the reversible airways obstruction forms the cornerstone of quality asthma management. Asthma is defined as a heterogeneous disease, usually characterized by chronic airway inflammation and reversible airway obstruction [1]. It affects an estimated 300 million people of all ages worldwide [1]. It is important to manage this reversible airways obstruction as it forms the cornerstone to quality asthma management [1, 2]. In order to achieve good control of asthma, the treatment should result in day and night symptoms less than 4 times per week, improve performance of daily activities, reduce asthma attacks, and that reliever
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