Abstract

Background Recent clinical trials have indicated that the long-acting antimuscarinic agent tiotropium, a once-daily long-acting bronchodilator, may provide benefit to patients with symptomatic asthma. We investigated primary efficacy data (lung function, risk of severe exacerbation and seven-question Asthma Control Questionnaire [ACQ-7] response) from five Phase III, randomised, double-blind, parallel-group trials that evaluated the efficacy and safety of once-daily tiotropium add-on versus placebo add-on (all tiotropium doses delivered via the Respimat ® SoftMist™ inhaler) in adults with symptomatic asthma on inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) ± long-acting β 2 -agonist (LABA) maintenance therapy. Methods Two 48-week trials of tiotropium Respimat ® 5 µg (PrimoTinA-asthma ® : NCT00776984, NCT00772538) in patients on high-dose ICS (≥800 µg budesonide or equivalent) + LABA; two 24-week trials of tiotropium Respimat ® 5 µg and 2.5 µg (MezzoTinA-asthma ® : NCT01172808, NCT01172821) in patients on moderate-dose ICS (400–800 µg budesonide or equivalent); one 12-week trial of tiotropium Respimat ® 5 µg and 2.5 µg (GraziaTinA-asthma ® : NCT01316380) in patients on low-dose ICS (200–400 µg budesonide or equivalent). Results 3476 patients were treated, of whom 1128 received tiotropium Respimat ® 5 µg. Once-daily tiotropium Respimat ® 5 µg significantly improved lung function (Table) in patients with not fully controlled asthma receiving low- to high-dose ICS. In addition, tiotropium Respimat ® 5 µg reduced the risk of severe exacerbations versus placebo (co-primary end point) in patients on high-dose ICS + LABA (hazard ratio 0.79; p = 0.0343), and there was an increase in ACQ-7 responder rate (co-primary end point) with the5 µg dose (odds ratio 1.32; p = 0.0308) compared with placebo in patients on moderate-dose ICS. Conclusion Once-daily tiotropium Respimat ® significantly improves lung function in adult patients with symptomatic asthma receiving a range of doses of ICS, including even high-dose ICS + LABA, suggesting a potential role for this treatment as add-on to ICS in adults with symptomatic asthma.

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