The role of the pharmacy in the management of bronchial asthma

Publication date: Available online 23 November 2016
Source:Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Author(s): Gianenrico Senna, Marco Caminati, Clara Bovo, Giorgio Walter Canonica, Giovanni Passalacqua
ObjectivePharmacists play a relevant role in the real-life management of asthma because they are a first-line referral for patients. In fact, the role of pharmacies has been underlined and evidenced also in guidelines. Nonetheless, the true effect of pharmacy-based management of asthma has been assessed in only a few studies. We review the available literature on asthma management in a territorial pharmacy setting.Data SourcesThe literature was searched for the keywords pharmacy, bronchial asthma, control, and management.Study SelectionThe available studies were subdivided into observational and interventional and described.ResultsSeven observational studies and 14 interventional trials were found, involving approximately 20,000 individuals. Most of those studies were performed in Europe and Australia. A high proportion of patients had poorly controlled asthma in the observational studies. The active involvement of pharmacists, in the interventional trials, consistently led to an improvement of the quality of life, a better inhalation technique, and a reduction of exacerbations.ConclusionThe literature analysis confirms the relevance of the role of pharmacists in the real-life management of bronchial asthma and underlines the need for a more specific training for those health care professionals.



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