Over fifty per cent of UK patients with asthma are possibly overusing short-acting β2-agonists

According to research, which will be presented at the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting, over fifty per cent of UK patients with asthma are possibly overusing short-acting β2-agonists (SABAs).

The researchers found that the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the inhalers are roughly three times higher in the UK in the EU.

As part of the SABINA UK programme, sponsored by AstraZeneca, the degree of SABA overuse was derived from Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD.

The study defined SABA overuse as having three or more prescriptions in one year, with 284,683 patients from the SABINA UK programme receiving six-point-five-one prescriptions per year on average.

A consultant in respiratory and general medicine at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Alexander Wilkinson, stated: “This new analysis shows that reliever overuse is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in respiratory care, similar to driving an average diesel car for about nine-hundred million miles. These findings are important for informing clinical guidelines and healthcare policies to support improvements in asthma care, while also realising carbon savings.”