title: The role of the pharmacy in the management of bronchial asthma: A literature-based evaluation.
abstract: Pharmacists play a relevant role in the real-life management of asthma because they are a first-line referral for patients. In fact, the role of pharmacies has been underlined and evidenced also in guidelines. Nonetheless, the true effect of pharmacy-based management of asthma has been assessed in only a few studies. We review the available literature on asthma management in a territorial pharmacy setting.
  
  
  
  The literature was searched for the keywords pharmacy, bronchial asthma, control, and management.
  
  
  
  The available studies were subdivided into observational and interventional and described.
  
  
  
  Seven observational studies and 14 interventional trials were found, involving approximately 20,000 individuals. Most of those studies were performed in Europe and Australia. A high proportion of patients had poorly controlled asthma in the observational studies. The active involvement of pharmacists, in the interventional trials, consistently led to an improvement of the quality of life, a better inhalation technique, and a reduction of exacerbations.
  
  
  
  The literature analysis confirms the relevance of the role of pharmacists in the real-life management of bronchial asthma and underlines the need for a more specific training for those health care professionals.
authors.affiliation: Asthma Center and Allergy Unit, Verona University and General Hospital, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianenrico
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Senna
authors.affiliation: Asthma Center and Allergy Unit, Verona University and General Hospital, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caminati
authors.affiliation: Medical Direction, University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bovo
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Respiratory Diseases, IRCCS San Martino Hospital, IST, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio Walter
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Canonica
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Respiratory Diseases, IRCCS San Martino Hospital, IST, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: passalacqua@unige.it.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Passalacqua
mesh_terms: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019468:Disease Management; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D061345:Early Medical Intervention; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents