Should We Still Be Using Albuterol Alone for Asthma?

The combinations of inhaled steroid/albuterol or inhaled steroid/formoterol clearly are superior to monotherapy for rescue.

Albuterol has been the go-to asthma rescue inhaler for decades, but it does not prevent asthma exacerbations. Guidelines now recommend albuterol plus an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) as a rescue inhaler and formoterol/ICS as a rescue inhaler or maintenance and reliever therapy.

In a systematic review of 27 randomized trials with more than 50,000 patients, researchers examined asthma outcomes in patients who used short-acting β-agonists (SABAs; i.e., albuterol, salbutamol, or terbutaline) versus ICS/SABA or ICS/formoterol. For patients at highest risk, ICS/formoterol lowered relative risk for severe asthma exacerbations by 35%, and ICS/SABA lowered relative risk by 16%, compared with SABA monotherapy. Additionally, moderate evidence suggested …

Reviewing Author

David J. Amrol, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s BureauAstraZeneca; Incyte

David J. Amrol, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s BureauAstraZeneca; Incyte

Should We Still Be Using Albuterol Alone for Asthma?

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Reviewing Author