Abstract:

Introduction:  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) characterized by airflow limitation associated with abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs has been reported as the second leading cause of disability. In COPD, medication non-adherence leads to exacerbation and worsening of condition and hospital readmissions. Measurement or monitoring of medication adherence in COPD patients plays an important role in improving patient’s health outcomes. Objective: The present study was undertaken with the objectives to investigate the adherence pattern in the management of COPD and factors affecting patient adherence to the prescribed treatment with an aim to assess the knowledge about disease and their adherence to therapy in patients admitted at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methodology: Case sheet based prospective observational study was conducted for a period of 6 months after obtaining the permission from Institutional Ethical Committee, CMR College of Pharmacy, Hyderabad and the data was collected & analyzed according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Discussion: A total of 70 cases were included & analyzed for the study and outcome shows that; most common age group was 51-60 years with male predominance. Study observation reveals that the elderly patients were found to be non-adherent to the therapy. Majority of the COPD patients admitted were smokers and more than half of them were present smokers. The most common reason for medication non-adherence is forgetfulness and carelessness followed by forgetfulness. The highest prescribed drug is inhaled steroid (Budecort) followed by Azithromycin antibiotic. The P-value for this study using chi-square test was found to be 0.001. Conclusion: Present study concludes that smoking is the major risk factor of COPD and most of the patients are non-adherent to the therapy. The main reasons for non-adherence are forgetfulness, carelessness and a combination of both. Patient education has achieved the optimal results in smoking cessation.