Changes in the care of asthma in the past 10 years have reduced the cost of the disease in 800 € patient/year.

-a study carried out in Spain and presented in the journal archives of Bronconeumologia of the Spanish society for Pneumology and thoracic surgery shows how in the past 10 years the quality of life of patients with asthma has improved as well as they have decreased the costs associated with the disease. This improvement finds in the reduction of the use of health services with, for example, fewer emergency room visits due to exacerbations (0.3 by 0.6 visits per patient per year), a reduction in the severity of asthma with a greater proportion of mild asthma, 54.8% to 42.7% in the beginning of the study. The significant reduction in costs is estimated at € 1,464 patient/year on the 2,267€ of 10 years ago

Spain, 2011-November according to the World Health Organization, asthma is the seventh disease most prevalent in the world. It is a chronic respiratory disease that affects all age groups from infants to elderly and involving in some countries between 1 and 2% of the total health care costs. Causes is also not very well known but the prevalence has increased considerably in recent years in developed countries. To these pessimistic figures are contrasted other positive such as one decrease in such mortality and hospital attendance of asthma, causes could be in improving the performance of the health professionals, the dissemination of both clinical guidelines for patients and particularly the increase in the use of steroids inhaled and other drugs ” explains Dr. Joan Serra, author of the study, SEPAR member and head of the service of Pneumology at the General Hospital of Vic, Barcelona.

However there are few studies to assess developments of asthma in a period of time to be able to verify these claims. Hence arose the initiative and the importance of the study presented in the number of files Bonconeumologia October that has followed the evolution of more than 200 patients of asthma from 1994 to 2004 in the comarca of Osona (Barcelona). Their authors are Dr. Joan Serra, Dr. Vicente Plaza, members of SEPAR, and A. Comella, Universidad de Vic.

The objective of the study was to determine the magnitude of the evolutionary changes of asthma in patients in terms of morbidity and mortality, lung function, quality of life and cost ” explains Dr. Joan Serra. The result confirmed that the clinical evaluation of asthmatic disease in recent years is positive with a reduction in morbidity, improvement of the quality of life of patients and a substantial reduction in costs. In addition, these changes are independent of the level of severity of initial including the most serious forms of the disease. Improving coincides with the increased use of agonists and inhaled corticosteroids.

Eastern study is important to emphasize the improvement of the overall severity of asthma at age 10, asthma improved by 21% of the cases, with a significant greater proportion of patients with mild asthma and a reduction of the asthma mild. Among the variables clinics and asthma morbidity was reduced the number of queries to the primary care physician, specialist and emergency services.

At the same time increases significantly the use of inhaled corticosteroids and entered the combinations of these with (2-adrenergic agonists of long action); in 2004 21% of patients them was receiving, while in 1994 they neither used, not be still marketed. Also was significantly reduced the total score in the quality of life questionnaires used (in this case the St. George ’ s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) indicating that the level of quality of life has improved. is important to note the size of the observed changes, which provided a considerable reduction in the rate of hospitalizations and emergency room visits and a decrease of 7 points (50%) in) the SGRQ, with a tendency to be more moderate and severe accused in the forms of the disease ” points out Dr. Serra.

The analysis of economic data from the study revealed that, in line with the decline in morbidity and particularly health attendance, total costs are significantly reduced. The average total cost per patient per year in 2004 represented a decline of 35% compared to the 1994 average. The average total cost in our study was 1.464,4 €, and also differs substantially from other recent carried out on a sample of Spanish State level in 627 patients (study ASMACOST) established in 1.533€ ” the authors point out.

In relation to the direct costs, but showed a statistically significant increase of spending caused by the purchase of drugs and visits to physician primary care in 2004 with respect to 1994, the decline in other direct costs — particularly those relating to hospitalization and visits to emergency and medical specialist — led to a significant reduction of the sum of the direct costs. In the same vein, the decline in absenteeism days provided a significant and substantial reduction, to slightly more than half, of the indirect costs. What indicates that health expenditure is reduced considerably in patients who are stable and avoid flare-ups, this is achieved with a good education of the patient about their own disease and using medication appropriate.