Takemura M, et al. – Researchers performed this examination to study the clinical usefulness of the Adherence Starts with Knowledge–12 (ASK–12) for assessing and addressing adherence to inhalation therapy in asthma. They concluded that the ASK–12 is a brief, practical, and clinically useful measure for evaluating and addressing adherence to inhalation regimens in asthma.

Methods

• For the purpose of this study, the ASK-12 was administered to one hundred thirty-eight asthmatic patients.
• The cut-off value of the ASK-12 was examined to identify patients who were non-adherent to inhalation regimens and identify factors related to non-adherence using pharmacy-refill data.
• Inhalation regimens were prospectively switched to less-expensive and simpler (once-daily) dosing regimens in 8 non-adherent asthmatic patients who reported specific-barriers in “inconvenience of twice-daily inhaler use” and “cost” to verify the usefulness of the ASK-12.

Results

• Researchers reported that valid responses were received from one hundred fourteen (82.6%) patients.
• They found a significant correlation between pharmacy-refill rates and the ASK-12 total score (r=-0.55, P
• Findings revealed that the optimal cut-off value of the ASK-12 total score to discriminate non-adherent patients (defined by pharmacy-refill rate 52 (45.6%) patients were classified as non-adherent using this value.
• Univariate followed by multivariate analysis identified younger age as a predictor of non-adherence to inhalation regimens (odds ratio, 2.67; 95% CI, -0.95 to -0.06; P=0.027).
• It was noticed that switching inhaled medicines in 8 patients resulted in significant improvements in both ASK-12 scores and asthma control.