Trial reportBMC health services research2017
A cluster randomised control trial to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Italian medicines use review (I-MUR) for asthma patients.
Trial report in BMC health services research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacist-Driven Outcomes in Asthma and COPD: A Meta-Analysis of Clinical Outcomes and Medication Adherence.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Pooled it
- Community pharmacy interventions for health promotion: effects on professional practice and health outcomes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Cost Effectiveness of Advanced Pharmacy Services Provided in the Community and Primary Care Settings: A Systematic Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of an Asthma Self-Management Support Service Provided by Community Pharmacists: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy · 2018Pooled it
- Pharmacist services for non-hospitalised patients.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Improved adherence with Medicines Use Review service in Slovenia: a randomized controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2021Trial
- Social Attitudes Towards Public Health Interventions in Community Pharmacies in Poland: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Article
- ARIA-Italy managing allergic rhinitis and asthma in a changing world: The role of the Pharmacist.The World Allergy Organization journal · 2025Review
- An Overview of Adherence-What It Is and Why It Is Important.The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice · 2024Review
- Interventions to Expand Community Pharmacists' Scope of Practice.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Impact of Pharmacist-Led Intervention on Adherence to Inhalers, Inhalation Technique, and Disease Control Among Asthma/COPD Patients in a Resource Limited Center: An Interventional Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Objective Assessment of Adherence and Inhaler Technique among Asthma and COPD Patients in London: A Study in Community Pharmacies Using an Electronic Monitoring Device.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The first nationwide implementation of pharmaceutical care practices through a continuing professional development approach for community pharmacists.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2022Article
- Asthma as a social problem requiring systemic solutions in Poland.Postepy dermatologii i alergologii · 2022Article
- Community pharmacist counseling improves adherence and asthma control: a nationwide study.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- ERS/EAACI statement on adherence to international adult asthma guidelines.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2021Article
- Global burden of medication non-adherence in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma: a narrative review of the clinical and economic case for smart inhalers.Journal of thoracic disease · 2021Review
- Medicines use review service in community pharmacies in Spain: REVISA project.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2021Article
- Essential Role of Pharmacists in Asthma Care and Management.Journal of pharmacy practice · 2021Review
- Cost-Utility Analysis of a Medication Adherence Management Service Alongside a Cluster Randomized Control Trial in Community Pharmacy.Patient preference and adherence · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe economic burden of asthma, which relates to the degree of control, is €5 billion annually in Italy. Pharmacists could help improve asthma control, reducing this burden. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Medicines Use Reviews provided by community pharmacists in asthma.
methodsThis cluster randomised, multi-centre, controlled trial in adult patients with asthma was conducted in 15 of the 20 regions of Italy between September 2014 and July 2015. After stratification by region, community pharmacists were randomly allocated to group A (trained in and delivered the intervention at baseline) or B (training and delivery 3 months later), using computerised random number generation in blocks of 10. Each recruited up to five patients, with both groups followed for 9 months. The intervention consisted of a systematic, structured face-to-face consultation with a pharmacist, covering asthma symptoms, medicines used, attitude towards medicines and adherence, recording pharmacist-identified pharmaceutical care issues (PCIs). The primary outcome was asthma control, assessed using the Asthma-Control-Test (ACT) score (ACT ≥ 20 represents good control). Secondary outcomes were: number of active ingredients, adherence, cost-effectiveness compared with usual care. Although blinding was not possible for either pharmacists or patients, assessment of outcomes was conducted by researchers blind to group allocation.
resultsNumbers of pharmacists and patients enrolled were 283 (A = 136; B = 147) and 1263 (A = 600; B = 663), numbers completing were 201 (A = 97; B = 104) and 816 (A = 400; B = 416), respectively. Patients were similar in age and gender and 56.13% (458/816) had poor/partial asthma control. Pharmacists identified 1256 PCIs (mean 1.54/patient), mostly need for education, monitoring and potentially ineffective therapy. Median ACT score at baseline differed between groups (A = 19, B = 18; p < 0.01). Odds ratio for improved asthma control was 1.76 (95% CI 1.33-2.33) and number needed to treat 10 (95% CI 6-28). Number of active ingredients reduced by 7.9% post-intervention (p < 0.01). Adherence improved by 35.4% 3 months post-intervention and 40.0% at 6 months (p < 0.01). The probability of the intervention being more cost-effective than usual care was 100% at 9 months.
conclusionsThis community pharmacist-based intervention demonstrated both effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. It has since been implemented as the first community pharmacy cognitive service in Italy.
trial registrationTRN: ISRCTN72438848 (registered 5
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.