Table 3:
Outcome Measures
| Pre-Intervention Period | Post-Intervention Period | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exacerbation events | |||
| Total Exacerbations | 386 | 414 | |
| N (%) of patients with no exacerbations | 2410 (89.7%) | 2389 (88.9%) | 0.31 |
| Median (IQR) (min, max) exacerbations per person among those with 1 or more exacerbations | 1 (1,1)(1,9) | 1 (1,1)(1,8) | 1.01 |
| Percent of exacerbations with a qualifying event of type:* | |||
| Type 1: Single ED or IP visit with primary diagnosis of asthma | 112/386 (29.0%) | 109/414 (26.3%) | 0.31 |
| Type 2: Cluster of 2 visits with 1–14 days between, both with an asthma diagnosis | 85/ 386 (22.0%) | 89/414 (21.5%) | 0.51 |
| Type 3: ICD code (5th digit) or string indicating exacerbation | 220/386 (57.0%) | 245/414 (59.2%) | 0.31 |
| Type 4: Systemic corticosteroid within 0–3 days after any type of visits for asthma | 265/386 (68.7%) | 275/414 (66.4%) | 0.41 |
| Healthcare utilization | |||
| 1. IP visits with primary asthma diagnosis (number of visits) | 5 | 1 | - |
| 2. ED visits with primary asthma diagnosis (number of visits) | 131 | 121 | - |
| 3. Outpatient visits with an asthma diagnosis (number of visits) | 1888 | 1910 | - |
| 4. Asthma-specific medication use (n of prescriptions)** | 5,221 | 7,116 | - |
| 4a. Controller use | 2,224 | 2,987 | |
| 4b. Reliever use | 2,997 | 4,129 | |
| Healthcare utilization--number of patients with at least 1 of the following: | |||
| 1. IP visit with primary asthma diagnosis | 5/2687 (0.2%) | 1/2687 (0.0%) | 0.1 |
| 2. ED visit with primary asthma diagnosis | 83/2687 (3.1%) | 92/2687 (3.4%) | 0.4 |
| 3. Outpatient visits with an asthma diagnosis | 609/2687 (22.7%) | 649/2687 (24.2%) | 0.1 |
| 4. Asthma-specific medication use** | 1094/2687 (40.7%) | 1334/2687 (49.6%) | <0.0001 |
| 4a. Controller use | 468/2687 (17.4%) | 585/2687 (21.8%) | <0.0001 |
| 4b. Reliever use | 1005/2687 (37.4%) | 1240/2687 (46.2%) | <0.0001 |
| Composite scores: ACT | |||
| Number of observations | 0 | 543 | - |
| ACT score = “in control” [n (% of all ACTs)] | n/a | 325 (60.2) | - |
| ACT score = “poorly controlled” [n (%)] | n/a | 132 (24.4) | - |
| ACT score = “very poorly controlled” [n (%)] | n/a | 83 (15.4) | - |
| Pulmonary physiology: FEV1/FVC percent predicted | |||
| Number of observations | 13 | 456 | - |
| Mean value (percent predicted, (standard deviation)) | 82.5 (11.1) | 77.9 (13.1) | 0.11 |
*
Percentages add up to greater than 100% as an exacerbation may have more than one qualifying event.
**
This includes controllers and relievers but not steroids.