In:
Frontiers in Medicine, Frontiers Media SA, Vol. 8 ( 2021-10-21)
Abstract:
Background and objective: To evaluate the awareness/knowledge and clinical practice for the treatment of atypical asthma among respiratory specialists and primary care practitioners (PCPs) in China. Methods: A total number of 1,997 physicians participated in the survey via WeChat. The questionnaire included six main items: physician demographic characteristics, awareness, diagnosis, medical prescription, assessment/education, and proposal. Results: Cough variant asthma (CVA) was recognized by 97.51% of physicians (1,166 respiratory specialists and 799 PCPs), followed by chest tightness variant asthma (CTVA, 83.72%) and occult asthma (73.54%). Specialists were more likely to follow diagnostic recommendations than PCPs ( P & lt; 0.01); however, 34.15% of physicians reported the utility of bronchodilation tests, airway provocation tests, and peak expiratory flow monitoring. A total of 91.70% and 92.01% of physicians prescribed inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) or ICS plus long-acting beta-agonists (LABA) for CVA and CTVA, respectively. Physicians prescribed an ICS or ICS/LABA for 4 (2–8) or 8 (4–12) weeks for CVA and 4 (2–8) or 5 (4–12) weeks for CTVA, and the prescription durations were significantly shorter for PCPs than for specialists ( P & lt; 0.01). Further, 52.42% and 35.78% reported good control of CVA and CTVA, respectively, with significantly lower control rates for PCPs than for specialists ( P & lt; 0.01). Additionally, specialists exhibited better assessment and educational habits than PCPs. Conclusion: While atypical asthma was identified by most specialists and PCPs, there remains a gap between management in real clinical practice and guideline recommendations, especially for PCPs. Further training of PCPs and clinical studies of atypical asthma are required to improve practice.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2296-858X
DOI:
10.3389/fmed.2021.727381
DOI:
10.3389/fmed.2021.727381.s001
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Frontiers Media SA
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2775999-4
