A comparison of budesonide/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy vs. conventional best practice in asthma management.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To study the effectiveness and safety of budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort) Maintenance And Reliever Therapy (Symbicort SMART, AstraZeneca, Södertalje, Sweden), a simplified management approach with one inhaler compared with conventional best practice (CBP) with multiple inhalers in patients with persistent asthma.

Design

Open-label randomised controlled parallel group trial, 6-month treatment.

Participants

A total of 908 patients > or = 12 years of age, with persistent asthma receiving treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), either alone or in conjunction with long-acting beta(2)-agonist.

Main outcome measures

Time to first severe asthma exacerbation and number of severe asthma exacerbations.

Results

No difference between groups was seen

SUBMITTER: Louis R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2780558 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature