Coping with the disease phenomenon and peculiarities of the course of bronchial asthma

: The aim of the study was to evaluate coping stratages (the degree of coping with the disease, CD) in 239 patients with moderate or severe bronchial asthma (BA). A method making it possible to calculate coping with the disease index (CDI) and thus to divide the patients into groups with a high (1) or low (2) degree of CD, was used. In addition, the levels of sputum eosinophilia, bronchial permeability, and pulmonary hemodynamics, were studied in both groups by two control examinations (after 6 and 10 to 12 months). The absence of severe cases of BA, stable results achieved during the first stage of treatment, stable remission on a smaller dose of inhaled glucocorticosteroids after 6 months with a significant growth of the number of well-controled BA and a decrease in pulmonary hypertension by the end of follow-up period, were typical of patients with a high CD. Evaluation of CDI allows for differentiation of BA patients into the groups with prognostically favorable and unfavourable BA, rationalizing therapeutic strategy, and lowering the probability of pulmonary hypertension progression.