Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia, Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil.
Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2012 Jan;68(1):73-82. doi: 10.1007/s00228-011-1092-6. Epub 2011 Jun 30.
Despite the advances in asthma therapeutics, there are few data on the use and determinants of anti-asthmatic drugs in the general population of children. This study describes the use of asthma medications among children in the general population and in children with current asthma, living in a large urban center in Brazil.
A population-based cross-sectional survey, aimed at analyzing asthma determinants, was conducted with 1,382 children aged 4-11 years, between February and May 2006, in Salvador, Brazil. At baseline, an extensive questionnaire was applied, including questions about the use of asthma medications in the last 12 months.
In all studied children (n = 1,382) aged 4-11 years, oral beta2-agonists were the drugs most frequently used (9.8%), followed by short-acting inhaled beta2-agonists (4.3%) and systemic corticosteroids (1.6%). Anti-asthmatic drug use was higher among males than females, and it significantly decreased with age in both genders. A total of 312 children (22.6%) reported current asthma, and 62% of them were not being treated with any anti-asthmatic drugs. Of all those who reported following a certain type of treatment, 20% used oral beta2-agonists alone; 6.1%, short-acting inhaled beta2-agonists alone; and 4.8%, a combination of both drugs. Anti-asthmatic drug use did not differ according to socioeconomic status, except for the use of inhaled beta2-agonists and systemic corticosteroids.
An overwhelming majority of asthmatic children were not using long-term medications for asthma, in particular inhaled corticosteroids, regardless of the severity of their disease. This result points to the deficiencies of the Brazilian public health system in recognizing this important pharmacological need for child care and thereby limiting the access of these children to a group of efficacious, available, and low risk therapeutic medications.
尽管哮喘治疗方面取得了进步，但关于普通人群儿童中抗哮喘药物的使用和决定因素的数据很少。本研究描述了巴西一个大型城市中心普通人群儿童和当前患有哮喘儿童中哮喘药物的使用情况。
2006 年 2 月至 5 月，在巴西萨尔瓦多进行了一项基于人群的横断面调查，旨在分析哮喘的决定因素。共有 1382 名 4-11 岁儿童参与，基线时应用了一份广泛的问卷，包括过去 12 个月内使用哮喘药物的情况。
在所研究的所有 1382 名 4-11 岁儿童中，最常使用的药物是口服β2 激动剂（9.8%），其次是短效吸入β2 激动剂（4.3%）和全身皮质类固醇（1.6%）。男女两性中，男性使用抗哮喘药物的频率均高于女性，且两性中均随年龄增长而显著下降。共有 312 名儿童（22.6%）报告目前患有哮喘，其中 62%未使用任何抗哮喘药物治疗。在所有报告使用某种特定治疗方法的儿童中，20%单独使用口服β2 激动剂；6.1%单独使用短效吸入β2 激动剂；4.8%联合使用这两种药物。除吸入β2 激动剂和全身皮质类固醇外，抗哮喘药物的使用与社会经济地位无关。
绝大多数哮喘儿童未使用长期哮喘药物治疗，特别是吸入皮质类固醇，无论其疾病严重程度如何。这一结果表明，巴西公共卫生系统在认识到儿童护理的这一重要药物需求方面存在不足，从而限制了这些儿童获得一组有效、可用且低风险的治疗药物。
