Community pharmacy-based program for patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

The aim of our study was to develop and implement an education program both for moderate and severe asthma patients and patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (all stages) at community pharmacy conditions and to evaluate its influence on the patients' quality of life. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was carried out in community pharmacies (n = 24) in Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Community-dwelling patients with asthma and COPD participated in the study. An asthma and COPD education and monitoring program was implemented. Intervention patients received information about their disease, instruction on the appropriate use of medication, training in the inhaler technique; ADRs during treatment; recognition of early signs of exacerbation, information about the identification and control of asthma/COPD attacks; tobaccoism and efficacy of different methods on smoking cessation; control patients received routine dispensing services. The parameters assessed at baseline and at 1, 2, and 3 months were health-related quality of life, PEF and FEV1% levels, inhaler technique, hospitalization rates, and patient satisfaction with the pharmacy services. The health-related quality of life of the intervention patients improved at 3 months (P = 0.044). In the same time period, PEF and FEV1% significantly improved for intervention patients compared to the control groups (P = 0.009). The inhaler technique improved in the intervention groups (P = 0.021). As a whole, the community-based pharmaceutical care program was appreciated by the participants and had a positive impact on the QoL of patients with chronic lung diseases, their inhaler technique, and PEF and FEV1% rates.