Management, Medication Use and Economic Burden of Asthma among Hajj and Umrah Pilgrims

Abstract

Introduction: During Hajj and Umrah season, asthma-related acute admissions produce the enormous burden on healthcare facilities and causes delay in admissions for more severe cases, e.g. myocardial infarction, cardiac failure and severe trauma cases. Therefore, the snapshot of asthma-related admissions during the Hajj and Umrah season was determined by asthma-related admissions and medication use and economic burden during Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage season.
 Methodology: All asthma-related admissions during the month of Ramadan (fasting month) and Hajj pilgrimage were assessed from patients’ data retrospectively. The convenience sampling strategy was used to retrieve study variables. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 22.0 was used to analyze the data.
 Results: A total of 271 patients were selected as per inclusion criteria, the majority of them were males 153 (56.5%), while most of them were Saudi 70 (35.8%) and Egyptians 86 (31.7%). During hospitalization, the common treatment for acute exacerbations was inhaled corticosteroids 224 (86.3%), IV corticosteroids 129 (47.6%), Inhaled short-acting beta-agonists 244 (90%) and inhaled bronchodilators (ipratropium bromide) 237(87.5 5%).
 Conclusion: This periodic mapping of asthma-related admissions and its management during these massive gathering events is indeed a significant effort to explore issues of acute asthma exacerbations management and to provide information to plan for future interventions and policies.