Trends in asthma therapy in Hong Kong, 1987-1992.

To audit the clinical practice in drug treatment of bronchial asthma in Hong Kong, two questionnaire surveys were conducted in 1987 and 1992. The questionnaire was adapted from the 1984 European Audit. The response rate was 40% (248 of 615 mailings) in 1987 and 32% (207 of 652 mailings) in 1992. A total of 86% and 87% of responders were general practitioners (GP), respectively, and the others were chest physicians (CP). For treatment of acute severe asthma in adults, parenteral aminophylline was the first drug used by GP in 1987, whereas inhaled beta-agonist was used in 1992. Parenteral steroid was more often used by both GP and CP in 1992. In children, inhaled beta-agonist was always the first choice and parenteral steroid ranked higher in 1992, overtaking parenteral aminophylline. For maintenance therapy of chronic asthma in adults, inhaled beta-agonist ranked first in both surveys. Inhaled steroid has become much more popular with GP, ranking second in 1992, overtaking oral bronchodilators. With CP, inhaled steroid was already ranking second in 1987, and it was used as the first drug, as frequently as inhaled beta-agonist, in 1992. In children, in 1987, inhaled beta-agonist was the first drug of choice, and prophylactic drugs ranked lower than oral bronchodilators with both GP and CP. In 1992, cromoglycate and inhaled steroids were much more often used, so much so that among CP, inhaled steroid ranked first, just ahead of inhaled beta-agonist.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Self-medication among secondary school pupils in Hong Kong: a descriptive study.

A self-completion questionnaire was used to survey self-medication among secondary school pupils in Hong Kong. Data were collected from 4793 pupils aged 10 to 23 years (55.9% female and 44.1% male). Nearly three quarters (72.1%) had taken self-medication without consulting a medical practitioner and 51.8% of the sample had done so without the knowledge of older family members. The prevalence of self-medication increased with age. More than half the pupils (50.4%) indicated that trivial illness did not warrant a consultation with a doctor. Information relating to the sources of self-administered drugs, types of drugs used and sources of information about these drugs was collected. Medicine cabinets at home and pharmacy shops were the two most common places from which the pupils obtained their drugs. Though the prevalence of taking tranquillizers and sleeping tablets was found to be low, the probability of young people, especially boys, obtaining dangerous drugs from these places should not be overlooked. The medical, nursing and teaching professions should take a more active role in health education, as the sources from which the pupils obtained their drug knowledge, in descending order of frequency, were: family members, previous illness experience, pharmacy shops, doctor or nurse, television or radio, newspapers or magazines, friends and teachers.