Comparison of physicians' compliance, clinical efficacy, and drug cost before and after introduction of Asthma Prevention and Management Guidelines in Japan (JGL2003).

ABSTRACT Background This study investigated the variations in the clinical efficacy and drug cost following the introduction of the Asthma Prevention and Management Guidelines in Japan (JGL2003). Methods The medical charts of fifty outpatients treated continuously for asthma, aged 16-50 years, from October 2002 to October 2004 at Showa University Hospital were analyzed for physicians’ compliance with asthma guidelines, symptom severity, episodes in various occasions, prescriptions and drug costs. Results Physicians’ compliance with the guidelines, which were defined as the number of patient visits treated in conformity with the JGL over the total number of patient visits, was found to be high before (89.4%) and after (90.3%) the introduction of JGL2003, without a statistical difference. On the other hand, the distribution of asthma symptom severity varied significantly ( P P 2 -agonists containing patches, long-acting oral β 2 -agonists, short-acting inhaled β 2 -agonists, sustained-released theophylline and leukotriene receptor antagonists decreased after the introduction of JGL2003. Furthermore, the total annual drug cost per patient decreased significantly by an average of 16,259 yen ( P = 0.006). Conclusions The JGL2003 was judged to have improved criteria, which thus resulted in the high compliance of physicians with the guidelines, in the remission of asthma symptoms and in the reduction in the total annual drug cost per patient.