RESUMO
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: To identify patient's factors from their clinical picture and demographics, and recognize their association and influence on frequency of physician visit. METHOD: Study was conducted in Karachi from January - December 2019. Primary data was collected from 255 asthmatic patients that visited different hospitals, homeopathic and herbal clinics. Questionnaire included patient's demographic details, treatment choice for asthma and satisfaction level with different treatments. Collected data was analyzed by SPSS 20. RESULT: Among 255 asthmatic patients, 101 visited 5 - 7 times to physician from the past year, 48 visited 8-10 times and 27 went to physician more than 10 times in past 12 months. While 30 patients did not visit the physician even once and only 20 patients visited 1-2 times in the last year. From clinical factors, association of severity (p = 0.0001), limitation (p = 0.0001) and side effects (p = 0.003) with physician visit were found to be statistically significant. In addition, among demographics, age (p = 0.004), education (p = 0.0001), income (p = 0.0001) and having pets (p = 0.007) were found to be significant factors associated with physician visit for asthma in the past year. CONCLUSION: Most of the asthmatic patients covered in the study visited the physician more than five times during the last year and chose allopathic treatment for asthma. Age, education, severity and side effects of asthma treatment were some of the significant factors associated with physician visit. Patients with frequent follow up visits to the physician were satisfied with their treatment.
RESUMO
Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted; primary data were collected from asthmatic patients in different hospitals and clinics of allopathic, homeopathic, and herbal practitioners in Karachi, Pakistan. The study duration was from January 2020 to December 2020. Asthmatic patients aged over 13 years were selected for the study. A written informed consent was taken from the patients before the interview. Collected data were analyzed by the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) 22. Result: Among 255 asthmatic patients; 51.4% (n = 131) were male and 48.6% (n = 124) were female. For control of acute attacks of asthma 88.2% (p = 0.0001) of patients significantly preferred allopathic treatment while 6.3% (p = 0.008) used homeopathic treatment and 5.5% chose herbal treatment. For maintenance of asthma, 78.8% (p = 0.0001) patients used allopathic treatment while 12.4% (p = 0.0001) homeopathic and 8.8% (p = 0.0001) patients used herbal treatment. About 63.4% (p = 0.0001) of the asthmatic patients used short-acting ß-2 agonists for managing acute asthmatic episodes while long-acting ß-2 agonists (p = 0.0001) and inhaled corticosteroids (p = 0.0001) were found to be the preferred medicines for maintenance therapy. Effectiveness of treatment (p = 0.004) and cost effectiveness (p = 0.0001) significantly act as contributing factors for the selection of the treatment. The majority of the patients were satisfied with their chosen treatments for control of asthmatic symptoms. Conclusion: Most asthmatic patients preferred allopathic treatment for the management of acute episodes and control of asthmatic symptoms. It was found that the major factors for selecting a specific treatment include effectiveness, cost, and minimal side effects.