Evaluating Asthma Medication Use Before and After an Acute Asthma-related Event

OBJECTIVE: Pharmacy and medical claims data have often been used as a source of data on the asthma population in managed care settings. However, there are very few data on patterns of drug utilization surrounding an acute event. This is a report of an observational pilot study that evaluated utilization patterns in asthma treatment before and after an acute event. DESIGN: The study was performed by evaluating pharmacy and medical claims data submitted between January 1, 1994, and September 30, 1995, in a 275,000-member preferred provider organization (PPO) in the mid-Atlantic region; 83 patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: Evaluating the data using the McNemar test revealed a statistically significant greater number of patients using short-acting beta2-agonists after an acute event who did not use them before the event compared to the number of patients who changed in the reverse (i.e., patients who used short-acting beta2-agonists before an acute event but not after) (P less than 0...