Background: Asthma is a common chronic respiratory disease, reducing the quality of life and increasing the mortality risk of patients. Medication adherence and proper inhaler technique play an important role in asthma control. Objective: To investigate medication adherence, inhaler use, asthma control level, and its related factors among asthma outpatients treated at a specialized tertiary respiratory hospital. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on asthma outpatients treated at the specialized respiratory hospital (April 1, 2022-June 30, 2022). Medication adherence, inhaler use, and asthma control were assessed using the General Medication Adherence Scale, content-validated checklists, and the asthma control test. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were 184 patients included (mean age 48.86 ± 13.28, females 53.8%). More than half of the patients had at least one comorbidity (mainly allergic rhinitis). All patients were prescribed inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting beta agonist (LABA) as controller medications, and the most prescribed combination was ICS-LABA + leukotriene receptor antagonist (66.8%). The rates of patients with high medication adherence, proper inhaler technique, and good asthma control were 89.6%, 67.4%, and 75.0%, respectively. The higher medication adherence was associated with better asthma control (odds ratio = 4.584, 95% confidence interval 1.633-12.870, P = 0.004). Small sample size and single-center study may limit the generalizability of the results. Conclusions: Medication adherence was generally high, whereas inhaler technique errors remained common. Despite overall favorable asthma control, ongoing inhaler technique counseling and sustained medication adherence remain essential.
Ly et al. (Fri,) studied this question.