BACKGROUND AND AIM: Revised guidelines were released in Japan in 2003 for the assessment, treatment, and management of adult asthmatics, and similar guidelines for @entity1 asthmatics were released in 2002. We reassessed the severity and possible undertreatment of @entity565 according to these guidelines in stable asthmatics. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 861 well-controlled @entity748 @entity1 who, in April through June 2004 were cared for by 47 pulmonologists at 29 medical centers and 13 @entity565 clinics in a rural community in the San-in area of Japan. The physician obtained completed medical records about their symptoms and current treatment of the subjects, 726 adult and 135 @entity1 (aged 6 years or older) who were in stable condition and had had no exacerbations in the previous 3 months. The severity of @entity565 and current treatment for each @entity1 were assessed according to the newly revised Japanese guidelines for the assessment, treatment, and management of adult and @entity1 asthmatics. RESULTS: In adult and @entity1 asthmatics, the percentage of predicted forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1.0) was smaller and has a narrower distribution range than the percentage of predicted peak expiratory flow (PEF). When the severity of @entity565 was classified according to symptoms alone, 50% and 35% of those classified as mildly asthmatics @entity1 with adults and @entity1 , respectively, had moderate to severe airflow limitation. Inhaled corticosteroids were prescribed to 90.6% of adult and 14.9% of @entity1 @entity1 . When we compared the treatments that @entity1 were actually receiving against the optimal treatments indexed according to a combined symptoms-FEV1.0 classification, we found that 49% of adult asthmatics were overtreated, 21% were properly treated, and 30% were undertreated. Among @entity1 , the respective percentages were 35%, 25%, and 40%. CONCLUSION: In well-controlled adult and @entity1 asthmatics, the severity of @entity565 is poorly judged when symptoms alone are considered. We suggest that the severity of @entity565 should be assessed through a combination of symptoms and the measurement of FEV1.0 during office visits. We also suggest that the proper dose of inhaled @entity134 needed to maintain stable conditions should be judged according to this combined symptoms-FEV1.0 classification.

Underrecognition of the severity of XXXX and undertreatment of @entity565 in a rural area of Japan.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'patients', 'patient', 'child'] @entity565 :: ('MESH:D001249', 'Disease') :: ['asthma'] @entity134 :: ('CHEBI:35341', 'Chemical') :: ['steroid'] @entity748 :: ('MESH:D013224', 'Disease') :: ['asthmatic']
@entity565 :: (MESH:D001249,Disease) :: ['asthma']
