Factors affecting compliance and control of asthma in patients attending the Respiratory Outpatient Department, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital

Background. ere is a sense among respiratory physicians that asthma is poorly controlled in public sector hospitals, possibly due to pooradherence and lack of knowledge regarding inhaler technique.Objective. To describe the status of asthma control in patients attending the Respiratory Outpatient Department at Chris Hani BaragwanathAcademic Hospital.Methods. A retrospective record review was conducted on outpatient les of asthmatics known to the Respiratory Department. Dataobtained included demographics, level of control and number of admissions and exacerbations.Results. A total of 519 patient les were reviewed, 74.2% of whom were female. e mean (standard deviation) age was 47 (16.5) years.We found 47.2% of patients were controlled, 30.4% partially controlled and 22.4% uncontrolled. Most patients (88%) had no admissions inthe previous year. About 60% had not experienced exacerbations in the previous year. ere were signicant dierences between the threegroups for number of exacerbations, both per year and per lifetime, and type of steroid prescribed. For a number of signicant areas, suchas forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%) predicted and competency of inhaler technique, a large proportion of the data (>30%)had not been documented by the attending doctor in the patient les.Conclusion. In this population of mostly middle-aged female asthmatics, less than half the patients were well-controlled despite very fewadmissions or exacerbations in the previous year. Documentation by clinicians of aspects indicative of asthma control was generally poor, andbetter documentation should be encouraged in order to improve knowledge and highlight awareness of best practice in the management of asthma.