High SABA Use: A Sign of the Uncontrolled Asthma Patient?

Short-acting beta agonists have been a first-line treatment for asthma for over 50 years.¹ However, a growing body of evidence including data from the National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) has shown that SABA overuse, defined as 3 or more canisters per year,¹ is linked with a higher risk of exacerbations, which are associated with increased risk of mortality.²

The SABINA (SABA use IN Asthma) programme aims to understand whether high SABA use is a global problem and whether this occurs in patients with asthma across all severity levels.³ In this talk, Professor Jenni Quint discusses data from the global SABINA study, covering the different phases of this extensive programme including SABINA I, SABINA II and SABINA III and thus, contextualising the use of SABA in the UK with that observed internationally. 

Professor Jenni Quint also discusses how high SABA use can impact the environment and the availability of a range of devices that would best suit different patients and help achieve improved sustainability.

References

1. National Institude for Healthcare and Excellence guidelines. November 2017. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng80/chapter/Recommendations#principles-of-pharmacological-treatment
2. Royal College of Physicians. National Review of Asthma Deaths report. May 2014. Available at: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/why-asthma-still-kills
3. Cabrera CS et al. SABINA: global programme to evaluate prescriptions and clinical outcomes related to short-acting β2-agonist use in asthma. Eur Respir J. 2020 Feb 12; 55(2): 1901858.

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• Professor Jenni Quint

  Consultant Respiratory Physician & Clinical Senior Lecturer

  Read biography
  Professor Jenni Quint

  Consultant Respiratory Physician & Clinical Senior Lecturer Royal Brompton Hospital & National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London

  Role and Location

  Professor Jenni Quint is a Consultant Respiratory Physician based at Royal Brompton Hospital, and a clinical senior lecturer in respiratory epidemiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London. 

  Education 

  Professor Jenni Quint completed a BSc in molecular medicine at the University of London in 1999 before achieving her professional degree in medicine at the same institute in 2000. In 2010 she completed a PhD entitled ‘determinants of exacerbation frequency in COPD’ and then also achieved an MSc in Epidemiology the following year. She became a fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2015 and the Royal College of Physicians in 2016.

  Research Interests

  Professor Quint’s research interests centre on the use of electronic health records to study chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as well as other chronic respiratory diseases including bronchiectasis and asthma. The majority of her work has been on exacerbations of COPD, exploring the effect of COPD exacerbations on vascular outcomes and the relationship between environmental factors and exacerbations of COPD. She has also undertaken several pieces of work in validation of identification of respiratory diseases in electronic health records.

  Memberships

  Professor Quint’s memberships include the: Clinical Practice Research Datalink Independent Scientific Advisory Committee (CPRD ISAC), British Thoracic Society (BTS) council, BTS Science and research committee, Centre for Environment and Health, run by the Medical Research Council and Public Health England (MRC-PHE), National Heart and Lung Institute Athena Swan; member of SAT, Respiratory Effectiveness Group (invited). Dr Quint is also an associate Editor for Thorax and the International Journal of COPD  and the Epidemiology Secretary for the European Respiratory Society.