Analysis of the Consumption of Drugs Prescribed for the Treatment of Asthma in Belgian Children

Abstract

(1) Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world among children. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the consumption of asthma medications in order to investigate asthma in children (2–18 years) and the association with health care consumption; (2) a retrospective study using anonymized administrative data for 2013–2018 from the third largest Belgian health insurer was conducted; (3) in 2018, 12.9% of children received at least one asthma medication and 4.4% received at least two packages with a minimum of 30 days between purchases. Preschool children (2–6 years) were three times more likely to take asthma medication than older children (7–18 years). ICS, in combination or not with LABA, were the most dispensed drugs among children. Children with asthma medications were almost twice as likely to receive antibiotics, more likely to end up in the emergency room, and twice as likely to be hospitalized; (4) most children took ICS, according to the GINA guidelines. High rates of nebulization in young children were observed, despite the recommendation to use an inhaler with a spacing chamber as much as possible. Finally, children who took asthma medications were more likely to end up in the ER or be hospitalized.

Asthma and COPD: Comparison with International Guidelines and Medication Adherence in Belgium

“…For children under the age of five with asthma, daily low doses of ICS were recommended for the second step of the treatment. It has already been shown that young children (2–6 years) were more likely to receive asthma medications such as ICS than older children [ 22 ]. However, for these young children, the diagnosis of asthma is difficult to establish because of the non-specificity of the symptoms and the lack of tests available for these symptoms [ 23 ].…”