WASHINGTON — Group drop-in appointments reduce emergency department visits and rescue medicine use in adult patients with asthma, according to the results of a small study.
ED and hospital use was reduced 40%, and the average use of rescue medication decreased by half over a 4-year period among patients seen as part of a weekly drop-in group, Dr. Myron Liebhaber reported in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
In addition, nocturnal waking was reduced from 4 to 1.5 times per month.
The drop-in group medical appointments were provided for adult patients with chronic asthma, wrote Dr. Liebhaber, an allergist in Santa Barbara, Calif. The program was designed to allow physicians to evaluate patients with asthma on a weekly basis and to provide patients with asthma education.
Groups were limited to 10 patients, and the appointments typically lasted for 90 minutes. The appointment process proceeded in three steps: vital signs and spirometry (with a nurse), an interim brief history and a physical exam (with a physician), and a group session (with an asthma educator and a behaviorist).
The study included 64 adults, who were followed for 4 years. In all, 42 patients continued the program for 4 years and were considered regular attendees.
A total of 26 patients completed the baseline and 1-year Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire; scores improved by 373 points in the first year, with most improvement in the symptoms domain.
Dr. Liebhaber reported that he had no relevant financial relationships.