SABA prescriptions and asthma management practices in patients treated by specialists in Taiwan: Results from the SABINA III study

Purpose: Limited data exist on asthma medication patterns in Taiwan. The objectives of the SABINA III cross-sectional study in Taiwan were thus, to describe patient demographics and clinical features and estimate short-acting β₂-agonist (SABA) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) prescriptions per patient. Methods: Patients (≥18 years) with asthma were classified by investigator-defined asthma severity per the 2017 Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) recommendations. Data on asthma symptom control (per GINA 2017 recommendations), severe exacerbation history, and prescribed treatments in the 12 months before study visit were collected using electronic case-report forms. Analyses were descriptive. Results: Overall, all 294 analyzed patients (mean [SD] age, 57.9 [15.6] years; female, 69%) were enrolled by specialists and had fully reimbursed healthcare. Most patients were classified with moderate-to-severe asthma (93.2%; GINA steps 3–5), were obese (53.4%) and nonsmokers (79.6%), reported high school or university and/or postgraduate education (61.9%), and had ≤2 comorbidities (89.1%). Mean (SD) asthma duration was 8.3 (10.0) years, with 37.8% of patients experiencing ≥1 severe exacerbation 12 months before the study visit. Overall, 62.2%, 26.2%, and 11.6% of patients had well-controlled, partly controlled, and uncontrolled asthma, respectively. Crucially, 19.3% of patients were prescribed ≥3 SABA canisters in the preceding 12 months (overprescription). ICS, ICS + long-acting β_2-agonist fixed-dose combination, and oral corticosteroid bursts were prescribed to 6.5%, 97.3%, and 31.6% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Despite treatment by specialists and fully reimbursed healthcare, findings indicate room for improvement in asthma control and SABA prescription practices in Taiwan, emphasizing the need to adhere to latest evidence-based guidelines.