As-Needed Inhaled Steroids plus Long-Acting Bronchodilators for Mild Asthma

Current asthma guidelines recommend daily low-dose inhaled steroids for patients with mild persistent asthma, but patients with minimal symptoms can be reluctant to use daily medications. In two new blinded, industry-sponsored studies, researchers compared as-needed therapies with maintenance therapies.

In the first trial, 3849 adolescent and adult patients with mild asthma were randomized to one of three groups: (1) as-needed terbutaline (an inhaled, dry-powder, short-acting β-agonist used in Europe) with no daily controller, (2) as-needed budesonide/formoterol, (a fixed combination of an inhaled steroid [ICS] plus a fast-acting long-acting β-agonist [LABA]) with no daily controller, or (3) daily budesonide plus rescue terbutaline. Patients…