Asthma management by medical practitioners: the situation in a developing country.

Background: Asthma is a common chronic disease worldwide and is responsible for considerable morbidity, socioeconomic burden, and depletion of health resources. Clinically, diagnosis of asthma is based on information obtained from symptom questionnaires, physical examination and demonstration of variable airflow obstruction. Proper diagnosis of asthma is mandatory in clinical practice in order to avoid undue use of potentially toxic asthma medications and prevent unwarranted social stigmatization. This study aimed to determine how medical practitioners in Nigeria diagnose asthma and use asthma medications during asthma exacerbation and the follow-up period.

Methods: A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire on asthma management was distributed to medical practitioners attending the annual scientific meeting/update course in August, 2009. Forty-nine practice centers in the 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria were included in this survey.

Results: Totally 131 medical practitioners (80 males, 51 females) completed the questionnaire. Post National Youth Service Corp practice (mean ± SD) was 9.95±7.78 years, ranging from 2 to 39 years. The practice centers of respondents included university teaching hospitals (65.6%), state specialist hospitals (17.6%), private hospitals (10.7%), and missionary hospitals (6.l%). Respondents' assessment of burden of asthma was high (30.5%), moderate (63.4%) and low (6.1%). Asthma diagnosis was made by various methods including: symptoms only (35.9%), health personnels (32.3%), mother/self evaluation (20.3%), and use of spirometry/peak expiratory flow rate (11.5%). Thus inappropriate asthma diagnosis could have been practiced by 116 (88.5%) medical practitioners.

Conclusion: The study revealed inadequate knowledge of asthma diagnosis and drug management of asthma by medical practitioners in Nigeria.