Review Urges Global Adoption of Evidence-Based Asthma Management Strategies
A recent in-depth review highlights the crucial need for healthcare systems worldwide to embrace evidence-based asthma management strategies. The review, focusing on the UK as a case study, highlights ongoing challenges related to the overuse of short-acting β2-agonist bronchodilators (SABAs) and the resistance to adopting alternative, more effective, safer, evidence-based treatments. The review's authors were recognised experts and leaders in respiratory medicine in the UK, together with Professor Richard Beasley, Director of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand (MRINZ).
The review reports that many healthcare systems, including those in the UK, have been slow to adopt evidence-based treatments despite scientific evidence highlighting the risks associated with regular or excessive use of SABAs. This complacency has contributed to suboptimal asthma care and higher rates of preventable attacks and hospital admissions.
Moreover, the UK has among the worst asthma outcomes among high-income countries globally, with factors such as overuse of SABAs, under-prescribing of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), and inadequate management by healthcare professionals exacerbating the situation. Limited access to specialist care and low referral rates for severe asthma further compound the challenges faced in managing the condition effectively.
The study advocates for the widespread adoption of anti-inflammatory reliever (AIR) therapy, specifically ICS-formoterol AIR therapy, rather than SABA reliever therapy. This AIR therapy approach is recommended by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and offers a simpler and more effective way to manage asthma by combining maintenance and reliever therapy in a single inhaler device Importantly, it reduces the risk of severe asthma attacks compared with the use of SABA reliever therapy, in adults and adolescents, across the range of asthma severity. The New Zealand strategy of implementing this therapeutic approach through a simple three-step asthma algorithm and associated asthma action plan is proposed as a practical and evidence-based way in which to manage asthma in clinical practice.
The study also identifies challenges in implementing evidence-based asthma management strategies, such as limited access to specialist care, inadequate training of healthcare professionals in asthma management, and financial barriers to adopting new treatment modalities.
The review has broad implications for asthma management worldwide. It calls for collaborative efforts among healthcare providers, policymakers, and patient advocacy groups to drive meaningful change and improve asthma care.
Read full review, here.