Adherence to GOLD guideline treatment recommendations among pulmonologists in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity233 @entity1030
BACKGROUND: Low adherence to Global initiative for @entity1030 (GOLD) guideline recommendations has been reported worldwide. There has been no study on the adherence to GOLD guidelines for @entity1030 treatment in @entity233 . OBJECTIVES: To investigate the rates of adherence to GOLD 2010 guidelines for @entity1030 treatment among pulmonologists. DESIGN: A multi-center, cross-sectional, observational study was carried out in eleven pulmonary outpatient clinics across @entity233 . Adherence to GOLD was evaluated through hospital records. Demographic and clinical data were recorded. RESULTS: Study included 719 @entity1 (mean age: 62.9  9.7 years; males 85.4%) of whom 16 was classified as GOLD Stage I, 238 as II, 346 as III, and 119 as IV, and only 59.5% received appropriate treatment. Rates of guideline adherence varied across GOLD stages (I, 6.3%; II, 14.7%; III, 84.4%; and IV, 84%). Causes of inappropriate therapies were overtreatment (Stage I, 100% and Stage II, 91.1%), undertreatment (Stage III, 3.3% and Stage IV, 10.9%) and lack of treatment (Stage II, 3.8%; Stage III, 2.3%; and Stage IV, 5.9%). The most preferred regimen (43.4%) was long-acting b2-agonist-inhaled corticosteroid-long-acting muscarinic antagonist. Overall, 614 @entity1 (89%) received treatment containing inhaled corticosteroid. CONCLUSION: Pulmonologists in @entity233 have low rates of adherence to GOLD guidelines in @entity1030 treatment. Inappropriateness of therapies was due to overtreatment in early stages and excessive use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in all disease stages.
