Impact of nasal condition on self-assessed disease control and treatment satisfaction in patients with asthma complicated by allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND

Bodies of evidences have suggested that upper and lower airways are intricately interconnected with each other in patients with allergic airways diseases, however, few data are available concerning the impact of allergic rhinitis on self-assessed asthma condition and treatment satisfaction. The present study was conducted to clarify the association between nasal condition and self-assessment of asthma control and treatment satisfaction.

METHODS

Adult patients with asthma were consecutively recruited for a systematic self-administered questionnaire to obtain information on nasal condition, self-perceived condition of asthma, and asthma treatment satisfaction.

RESULTS

3,140 adult patients with asthma completed the questionnaire, and of these 634 patients (mean age:53.1, 389 female) had physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis. There were significant correlations between nasal symptoms (sneeze, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction) and self-perceived asthma condition (limited daily activity, wheeze, dyspnea/chest tightness, cough, sputum, sleep disturbance, overall asthma condition). Patients who considered their overall nasal condition as unfavorable or bad were more likely than those who considered their condition as good or favorable to be dissatisfied with asthma treatment (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Nasal condition is closely associated with self-assessed asthma condition and asthma treatment satisfaction. Controlling allergic rhinitis is critical to attain optimal management of asthma in patients complicated by allergic rhinitis.