Date of Award

Winter 1-3-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

PharmD

Department

Department of Pharmacy Practice

First Advisor

Dr. Aswini Kumar Mohapatra

Second Advisor

Dr. Basavaraj S Hadapad

Abstract

Background: Bronchial Asthma (BA) is a chronic inflammatory of the airways.[1] It is generally known that asthma can cause an impact on a patient’s Quality of Life (QoL), mostly in a negative manner. To perceive the impact it has on the population, ‘Questionnaires on Quality of Life’ in asthmatic patients were made. Improving the QoL of patients with asthma mainly aims at reducing the risk of exacerbation and preventing morbidity related to asthma. Drug Utilization studies are important in order to assess the current prescription patterns against standard guidelines and can help in rationalizing the management. The economic burden of asthma has increased drastically across the globe over several decades. Patients’ knowledge, awareness of the disease, and low cost of therapy are key factors in improving quality of life. [2] Objectives: To study the Drug Utilization, direct costs and the QoL of asthmatic patients. Methods: A prospective study was conducted among 46 Bronchial asthma patients with and without comorbidities who visited the Respiratory Out-patient department in Kasturba Hospital after obtaining the ethical clearance. The study aimed at assessing the QoL, drug utilization patterns, and direct cost of therapy. Quality of Life was measured using the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) and the direct cost of therapy was analyzed using the medications prescribed by the physicians, consultation fee and lab charges. [3] Patient were given an AQLQ along with an informed consent form (ICF), taking the proper consent of the patient, Participation Information Sheets (PIS) was provided regarding the information on the project being conducted. Each patient was given 10-15 minutes to sign the ICF and complete the AQLQ. The information obtained from the patient was transferred from hard copies of Case Report Forms (CRFs) to SPSS 20 and analyzed. Results: 57 patient files were collected out of which 11 files came under exclusion criteria, thus 46 patients’ data was collected. Mean age of the study population (N = 46) was 40.85 ± 10.02 years. It was found that 67% of the study population were females and 33% were males. 56.5% of patients had comorbidities whereas 43.5% did not. FEV1 (post) values taken show that 45.6% of patients have an obstruction. The mean Overall AQLQ score was 4.99 ± 1.24, mean Activity Limitation score was 4.83 ± 1.33, mean Symptoms score was 5.11 ± 1.41, mean Emotional Function score was 5.22 ± 1.31 and mean Environmental Stimuli score was 4.66 ± 1.55. These values along with FEV1 (post) values show that moderate impairment is seen among the patients. Patients without comorbidities had a better QoL (5.17 ± 1.38) than in patients with comorbidities (4.86 ± 1.12). Patients who were literate had a higher QoL than the illiterate patients. The average total cost of treatment, drug cost and lab charges in 46 patients were found to be 2252±1057, 1142.15 ± 484.35 and 920.33 ± 902.31 respectively. The average cost of therapy was found to be high in the case of patients with co-morbidities. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that more studies need to be conducted on QoL of patients and educate the patients further on the disease knowledge and medication knowledge thus improving their quality of life and reducing the average cost of therapy.

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