Source: Annual Congress 2002 - Asthma in primary care - Assessment and control
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Nocturnal symptoms are common in patients (pts) with asthma. A postal questionnaire analyzed the prevalence and management of nocturnal symptoms in adults with chronic asthma in France. 4,277 doctors (3,526 GPs, 751 specialists) completed questionnaires for 13,493 pts. Pts also completed their own questionnaires. The mean age of pts was 46.2 yrs, 52% male, 48% female.

Nocturnal symptoms	GP pts n=10,541	Specialist pts n=2,952
Once or twice a month	41.3%	43.7%
>twice a month	30.0%	16.8%
Several times a night	22.3%	24.5%
Every night	5.8%	14.6%

Nocturnal symptoms were not related to age and were more frequent in women, in pts where asthma was discovered later in life, and in smokers. Changes in treatment were analyzed: 71.5% of pts with nocturnal symptoms were prescribed inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) by specialists and 17.3% of pts had their dosage increased. Similarly, 65.5% of pts were prescribed ICS by GPs and 23.4% had their dosage increased. Prescription of long-acting β2-agonists (LABA) by specialists was related to the frequency of nocturnal symptoms (infrequent, 70.8%; every night, 89.6%). A close similarity was observed between the pt and doctor data. This similarity was less marked when the frequency of reported symptoms was compared. Pts appeared to complain more readily to specialists about nocturnal symptoms. This study confirms the high prevalence of nocturnal symptoms in pts with chronic asthma. Changes in treatment such as the introduction of ICS and/or LABAs can be beneficial to pts with asthma.

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Citations should be made in the following way:
M. Molimard, V. Le Gros (Bordeaux, Rueil-Malmaison, France). The noctil study: caring for nocturnal asthma symptoms in adults. Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 592

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