Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1987 Sep;42(9):670–675. doi: 10.1136/thx.42.9.670

Use of anti-asthma drugs in New Zealand.

B L Sinclair 1, D W Clark 1, M R Sears 1
PMCID: PMC460909  PMID: 3686458

Abstract

Increased sales of anti-asthma drugs, and a second "epidemic" of asthma mortality, raised concerns about the management of asthma in New Zealand. To study this, prescriptions were obtained from randomly selected pharmacies to identify 235 patients receiving one common anti-asthma drug, 175 of whom were willing to be interviewed. The authors considered that 80% had asthma, and only 20% suffered primarily from chronic bronchitis or emphysema. The increased sales of anti-asthma drugs could not therefore be explained by their increasing use in treatment of other respiratory disorders. One third of the identified asthmatic subjects experienced daily symptoms despite regular drug treatment. Inhaled corticosteroids were used by only 42% of this group with persistent symptoms. Regular or short course oral corticosteroids, with or without inhaled steroids, had been required by 49%. All patients with domiciliary nebulisers appeared to use these appropriately, and most had peak expiratory flow meters. Despite the increased sales of anti-asthma drugs, corticosteroids appear to be as much underused in patients with chronic asthma in the community as in those who die of their disease.

Full text

PDF
670

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cochrane G. M., Prior J. G., Rees P. J. Home nebulisers for airflow limitation. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Jun 1;290(6482):1608–1609. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6482.1608. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Jackson R. T., Beaglehole R., Rea H. H., Sutherland D. C. Mortality from asthma: a new epidemic in New Zealand. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1982 Sep 18;285(6344):771–774. doi: 10.1136/bmj.285.6344.771. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Keating G., Mitchell E. A., Jackson R., Beaglehole R., Rea H. Trends in sales of drugs for asthma in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, 1975-81. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Aug 11;289(6441):348–351. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6441.348. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Laroche C. M., Harries A. V., Newton R. C., Britton M. G. Domiciliary nebulisers in asthma: a district survey. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Jun 1;290(6482):1611–1613. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6482.1611. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Macdonald J. B., Seaton A., Williams D. A. Asthma deaths in Cardiff 1963-74: 90 deaths outside hospital. Br Med J. 1976 Jun 19;1(6024):1493–1495. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6024.1493. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. McGivern D. V., Ward M., Revill S., Sechiari A., Macfarlane J., Davies D. Home nebulizers in severe chronic asthma. Br J Dis Chest. 1984 Oct;78(4):376–382. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Med M. Prenatal development of lumbar intervertebral articulation. Folia Morphol (Praha) 1982;30(3):285–290. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Neville E., Corris P. A., Vivian J., Nariman S., Gibson G. J. Nebulised salbutamol and angina. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1982 Sep 18;285(6344):796–797. doi: 10.1136/bmj.285.6344.796. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Rea H. H., Scragg R., Jackson R., Beaglehole R., Fenwick J., Sutherland D. C. A case-control study of deaths from asthma. Thorax. 1986 Nov;41(11):833–839. doi: 10.1136/thx.41.11.833. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sears M. R., Rea H. H., Beaglehole R., Gillies A. J., Holst P. E., O'Donnell T. V., Rothwell R. P., Sutherland D. C. Asthma mortality in New Zealand: a two year national study. N Z Med J. 1985 Apr 24;98(777):271–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sears M. R., Rea H. H., Rothwell R. P., O'Donnell T. V., Holst P. E., Gillies A. J., Beaglehole R. Asthma mortality: comparison between New Zealand and England. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1986 Nov 22;293(6558):1342–1345. doi: 10.1136/bmj.293.6558.1342. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sears M. R., Rea H. H., de Boer G., Beaglehole R., Gillies A. J., Holst P. E., O'Donnell T. V., Rothwell R. P. Accuracy of certification of deaths due to asthma. A national study. Am J Epidemiol. 1986 Dec;124(6):1004–1011. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114470. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Simpson J. B., Squires I. H. Asthma management within North Canterbury general practice. N Z Med J. 1984 Oct 24;97(766):724–727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Speight A. N., Lee D. A., Hey E. N. Underdiagnosis and undertreatment of asthma in childhood. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 Apr 16;286(6373):1253–1256. doi: 10.1136/bmj.286.6373.1253. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES