Page 60 - Comprehensive treatment of patients with glucocorticoid-dependent severe asthma

Chapter 3
Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with severe, prednisone- dependent asthma and to investigate whether these patients have elevated dysfunctional personality traits as compared to patients with severe, non prednisone-dependent and mild-moderate disease. If so, this might have important implications for the management of patients with this disabling disease.
Methods
Patients
Adult patients (18-80 yr) were recruited from the outpatient departments of 2 academic and 3 non-academic teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. Patients with mild-moderate asthma had to have a history of episodic dyspnea and wheezing, a documented reversibility in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of > 12% predicted [22] or hyperresponsiveness to histamine (PC20 <8 mg/ml) [23]. Patient with severe asthma and prednisone-dependent and non-prednisone-dependent asthma had to meet the ATS criteria of severe asthma [21]. In addition, patients with prednisone dependent asthma were on maintenance therapy with prednisone (≥ 2.5 mg/day) for at least three months. Current smokers and patients with a smoking history of more than 15 pack years were excluded.
Design
In this cross-sectional study all patients with asthma were asked to participate at their visit to the pulmonary outpatient clinics for a regular doctor’s appointment.
In one visit, patients’characteristics were documented according to a structured questionnaire. Then the patients completed the 2 self-report questionnaires on psychological functioning. Finally, postbronchodilator FEV1 was assessed using a handheld spirometer (Ferraris Respiratory Piko-1) according to ERS criteria [22].
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