Incidence and Characteristics of Asthma Exacerbations in Barcelona (ASMAB II)

Asthma exacerbations in a tertiary hospital: clinical features, triggers, and risk factors for hospitalization

“…We believe that the retrospective character of the study may have influenced data collection, especially since we only considered data recorded in the charts, as is the case in real-world practice, and therefore tried to avoid any interpretation bias by the investigators. In the ASMAB II study [13], only 31% of the patients attending the ED used inhaled corticosteroids regularly. Dominguez-Ortega et al [27] analyzed 83 bronchospasm episodes managed in the ED during a storm in spring: 21% of the patients had no previous recorded diagnosis of asthma, 93% had no regular medical visits, and 61.45% did not receive any treatment for asthma.…”

“…The profile of asthma exacerbations in Spain has been assessed. In 2009, the results of a study of 262 episodes of asthma exacerbation treated in a hospital emergency department (ED) and home care services in Barcelona [13] revealed that the most frequent etiology was possible viral infection of the respiratory tract, although the observation period was limited to October and November. Retrospective studies have been published on quality of care [14] and epidemiology [15].…”