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Respiratory disease in the Asia-Pacific region: Cough as a key symptom.
Allergy Asthma Proc. 2016 Jan 21;
Authors: Cho SH, Ghoshal AG, Lin HC, Muttalif AR, Thanaviratananich S, Bagga S, Faruqi R, Sajjan S, Brnabic AJ, Dehle FC, Wang DY
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Respiratory diseases represent a significant impact on health care. A cross-sectional, multicountry (India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand) observational study was conducted to investigate the proportion of adult patients who received care for a primary diagnosis of asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or rhinosinusitis.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of patients who received care for asthma, AR, COPD, and rhinosinusitis, and the frequency and main symptoms reported.
METHODS: Patients ages greater than or equal to 18 years, who presented to a physician with symptoms that met the diagnostic criteria for a primary diagnosis of asthma, AR, COPD, or rhinosinusitis were enrolled. Patients and physicians completed a survey that contained questions related to demographics and respiratory symptoms.
RESULTS: A total of 13,902 patients with a respiratory disorder were screened, of whom 7030 were eligible and 5250 enrolled. The highest percentage of patients who received care had a primary diagnosis of AR (14.0% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 13.4 -14.6%]), followed by asthma (13.5% [95% CI, 12.9 -14.1%]), rhinosinusitis (5.4% [95% CI, 4.6 -5.3%]), and COPD (4.9% [95% CI, 5.0 -5.7%]). Patients with a primary diagnosis of COPD (73%), followed by asthma (61%), rhinosinusitis (59%), and AR (47%) most frequently reported cough as a symptom. Cough was the main reason for seeking medical care among patients with a primary diagnosis of COPD (43%), asthma (33%), rhinosinusitis (13%), and AR (11%).
CONCLUSION: Asthma, AR, COPD, and rhinosinusitis represent a significant proportion of respiratory disorders in patients who presented to health care professionals in the Asia-Pacific region, many with concomitant disease. Cough was a prominent symptom and the major reason for patients with respiratory diseases to seek medical care.
PMID: 26802834 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
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