Practice Appointment Rates for High-risk Asthmatics: What could be the Predictor(s)?

Abstract

Practice appointment rates could have a significant impact on national health care costs and services offered by doctors. In this respect a study was designed to determine the relationship between practice appointments and possible predictors in high-risk asthmatics. An observational retrospective analysis of the predictors for the practice appointments in asthmatic patients with at least one hospital admission between years 1994-1998 was carried out. This study was performed in a local district general hospital and consenting practices in the UK. 115 asthmatics, aged over 5 years, admitted to the hospital for asthma exacerbations, between years 1994-1998, were enrolled in the study. Multivariate ridge regression was used to build the final model. Analysis revealed that the predictors age and the number of prednisolone rescue courses could remain in the final model (p=0.002, r=0.46).

As a conclusion, frequent oral steroid users and elderly asthmatics were found to have higher practice appointment rates. This is highly likely due to a more severe asthma condition as well as age-related problems in these groups of patients. These findings represent the importance of asthma management in unstable asthmatics and elderly patients in primary care level.