Abstract

In 1993 there was initiated the Global Initiative for Asthma Management and Prevention. Each year GINA is revised and each subsequent revision contains updated recommendations based on new data. It’s underlined in red throughout GINA 2023 the significance of ICScontaining therapy. The best treatment approach for adults and adolescents remains Track 1 with ICS/formoterol as needed. Track 2 now also includes an ICS/SABA combination as needed as an Anti-inflammatory Reliever (AIR), but Track 1 remains the “preferred” regimen. Although inhaled SABA are highly effective for rapid relief of asthma symptoms, patients whose asthma is treated with SABA alone (compared with ICS) have an increased risk of death and asthma-related emergency medical care needs. For safety reasons, GINA does not recommend SABA alone for the treatment of asthma in adults, adolescents, or children 6–11 years of age. Is it possible to treat asthma without SABA? In an asthma center in Argentina, since 2014, a treatment strategy with ICS-containing symptom relievers has been implemented: using only budesonide/formoterol in a single inhaler across all spectrums of asthma severity and completely excluding the use of SABA. As a result, the level of hospitalization decreased by 92%. The 2023 revision of GINA proposed new terminology for anti-asthma drugs: Maintenance therapy, controller drugs, reliever drugs, anti-inflammatory reliever, Maintenance and Reliever Therapy - MART. Clarifications have been made for the treatment of asthma exacerbations. Added details on drugs and doses of ICS/formoterol on demand and ICS/SABA as needed, MART regimen in individual asthma action plan, how and when to modify these drugs as the disease worsens. The inhaler prescription algorithm is written in more details, considering its impact on the environment. Conclusions: The GINA 2023 updates highlight the most significant role of ICS-containing therapy in achieving asthma control and preventing exacerbations. However, patient adherence to therapy remains quite low, so an approach that allows for the management of both symptoms and exacerbations simultaneously is simpler and remains the preferred way of asthma therapy. Global approaches to asthma management - limiting, where possible, the use of SABA and favoring delivery devices and treatment regimens with less environmental impact. Managing the patient according to his personal action plan and creating local protocols can limit the use of SABA, improve the patient’s asthma outcomes and environmental impact. Key words: asthma, GINA, inhalers, asthma control, exacerbation

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