Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with asthma who were prescribed ≥3 SABA canisters/year in the SABINA International study

Introduction: The SABA use IN Asthma (SABINA) International cross-sectional study reported that 38% of 8,351 patients were prescribed ≥3 SABA canisters/year (overprescription).Aim: This univariate post hoc analysis compares the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients overprescribed SABA with those prescribed 1−2 canisters/year.Methods: In patients aged ≥12 years with asthma, ≥3 physician consultations, and medical records containing data for ≥12 months before the study visit, multiple characteristics were compared using Chi-square or Kruskal-Wallis tests.Results: Compared with patients prescribed 1−2 SABA canisters/year, a significantly higher percentage of those prescribed ≥3 SABA were obese (35.0% vs 29.2%) and ex-smokers (14.2% vs 10.9%), with a lower percentage receiving university or post-graduate education (30.7% vs 34.5%; Figure). A significantly higher percentage of patients prescribed ≥3 vs 1–2 SABA canisters/year were at Global Initiative for Asthma treatment Step 5 (18.9% vs 11.8%), classified with uncontrolled asthma (35.6% vs 21.2%) and reported 1 (24.6% vs 21.0%), 2 (14.2% vs 9.3%) or ≥3 severe asthma exacerbations (18.0% vs 11.0%).Conclusion: The characteristics of patients overprescribed SABA will aid physicians in identifying and targeting those at risk of SABA overuse, thereby improving asthma outcomes globally.FootnotesCite this article as Eur Respir J 2022; 60: Suppl. 66, 3397.This article was presented at the 2022 ERS International Congress, in session “-”.This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).