Clinical features and associated factors with severe asthma in Salvador, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical features and to identify factors associated with significant severe asthma in samples of patients followed in a reference center in Salvador. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 473 adults, regularly followed in the “Asthma Control Program” in Bahia (Programa de Controle da Asma e da Rinite Alérgica na Bahia (ProAR)), reassessed systematically between 2013 and 2015. The patients were admitted for meeting previous criteria of severe asthma and were reclassified according to the most current definition proposed by a joint document of the “European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society” (ERS/ATS) (ERS/ATS 2014). RESULTS: Only 88/473 (18%) were reclassified as having severe asthma by ERS/ATS criteria (SA-ERS/ATS). Among these patients, 87% were women, 48% obese, with a median Body Mass Index (BMI) of 29 kg·m(2) (IQ 26-34), furthermore, 99% had symptoms of chronic rhinitis and 83% had symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). None of the 88 patients claimed to be current smokers. The most frequently corticosteroids were beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) (88%) and budesonide (BUD) (69%). The majority of the evaluations reported adequate adherence (77%), however, the minority (0,6%) detected serious errors in inhalation techniques. The median Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV(1)) associated with post-bronchodilator test (post-BD) was 67% predicted (IQ 55-80). The median number of eosinophils in the peripheral blood was lower in patients with SA-ERS/ATS (258 cells/mm(3) (IQ 116-321) than in the other patients studied [258 cells/mm(3) (IQ 154-403)]. Gastroesophageal reflux symptoms were associated with a higher severity [OR = 2.2 95% CI (1.2-4.2)]. CONCLUSION: In this group of patients, symptoms of GERD were associated with SA-ERS/ATS and eosinophil count > 260 cells/mm(3) were associated 42% with less chance SA-ERS/ATS