POLASTMA—The Polish National Programme of Early Diagnosis and Therapy of Asthma

Abstract

Asthma represents a growing health, social, and economic issue as it affects a considerable part of the population, adversely affecting patients' quality of life, while its chronic character and severity of symptoms impair family life. It has been estimated that 12% of the population of Poland (4.5 million) suffer from asthma and 16% report wheezes (5.7 million). In order to improve asthma care and patient outcomes, evidence-based recommendations must not only be developed, but also disseminated and implemented at a national and local level, which is key for integration into clinical practice. For these reasons, the Polish Society of Allergology (PSA) has decided to undertake actions, leading to some improvement of the epidemiological situation in Poland. The Polish National Programme of Early Diagnosis and Therapy of Asthma has been developed. This initiative is a response to the demand for medical care improvement in patients with asthma. Its goals include early diagnosis of asthma and improved control in the course of the disease, a reduction in the number of subjects with asthma-associated disability for work, an increased use of anti-inflammatory agents vs. rescue medications, a reduced number of patients with severe, uncontrolled bronchial asthma and prevention of complications of the disease and of adverse effects of applied therapy, an increase in social awareness regarding the bulk of problems associated with asthma, and reduction of the total costs of the care of patients suffering from asthma. Details regarding programme assumptions, goals, target groups, and modes of implementation are described in the document.

National and regional asthma programmes in Europe

“…National asthma programmes somewhat analogous to the Finnish one have been initiated in other European countries, including: France [9], Ireland [10,11], Italy [12], the Netherlands [13], Poland [14][15][16], Portugal [17,18] and Turkey [19][20][21][22][23][24]. The Norwegian government issued a national asthma programme in 2008-2012, but it is only available in the local language [25].…”

Recommendations for 24-Hour Movement Behaviours in Adults with Asthma: A Review of Current Guidelines

“…In total, 19 CPGs were included in the final review. Guidelines were published between 2005 and 2019 from 19 unique countries, specifically targeting adults only (n = 8) [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] or adults and children (n = 11) [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]. The recommendations and strategies provided for each movement behaviour are described below.…”

Epidemiology of asthma in adults living in the Silesian voivodeship according to secondary epidemiological data

“…W 2001 r. hospitalizacja chorego na astmę w postaci zaostrzonej wiązała się w naszym kraju z blisko 8-krotnie wyższymi kosztami (4427,80 zł) niż w przypadku leczenia ambulatoryjnego (583,50 zł) [6]. Szacuje się, że w Unii Europejskiej leczenie astmy wiąże się z rocznymi kosztami rzę-du 17,7 mld euro [7].…”

“…zredukowanie lub wyeliminowanie narażenia na środowiskowe czynniki ryzyka, wczesne rozpoznanie, a następnie zastosowanie właściwie dobranego leczenia farmakologicznego, szczególnie w odniesieniu do zaostrzeń choroby [1]. Nie bez znaczenia są także działania edukacyjne propagujące promowanie zdrowego stylu życia, skierowane do chorych i osób zdrowych, ujęte w Narodowym Programie Wczesnej Diagnostyki i Leczenia Astmy Oskrzelowej [7].…”

“…Wyniki badania PMSEAD wykazały niedodiagnozowanie w przypadku 50% dorosłych i 70% dzieci [7]. Z kolei wyniki badania ECAP wskazują, że po raz pierwszy astmę rozpoznano u 70% respondentów [5].…”