Inhaled Corticosteroid Medication Research Articles

Asthma outcomes in pediatric patients with 30-day follow-up after an asthma hospitalization in a Medicaid-managed care program

Background National asthma guidelines recommend an outpatient follow-up after hospitalization for asthma. Our aim is determine if a follow-up visit within 30 days after an asthma hospitalization impacts risk for re-hospitalization and emergency department visits for asthma within the following year. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of claims data of Texas Children’s Health Plan (a Medicaid managed care program) members age 1 to <18 years and hospitalized for asthma between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2018. Primary outcomes were days to re-hospitalization and emergency department visit between 30 days and 365 days following the index hospitalization. Results We identified 1,485 children age 1 to <18 years hospitalized for asthma. Comparing those with a 30 day follow-up to those without, there was no difference in days to re-hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio 1.23, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.74–2.06) or emergency department visit for asthma (aHR 1.08, 95% CI 0.88–1.33). Inhaled corticosteroid and short acting beta agonist dispensing were greater in the group completing the 30 day follow-up (means of 2.8 and 4.8 respectively for those with follow-up, 1.6 and 3.5 respectively for those without, p < 0.0001). Conclusion Having a follow-up outpatient visit within 30 days of an asthma hospitalization is not associated with a decrease in asthma re-hospitalization or emergency department visit in the 30–365 day period following the index hospitalization. Non-adherence to regular use of inhaled corticosteroid medication was high in both groups. These findings suggest need for improvement in the quality and quantity of post hospital asthma follow-up.

Evaluation of a pediatric asthma high-risk scoring algorithm.

Identification of patients with asthma at increased risk for hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits presents opportunity for intervention. Retrospective analysis of computerized health plan claims data. Texas Children's Health Plan, a large Medicaid managed care program, developed an asthma risk scoring algorithm using the clinically relevant parameters of hospitalization for asthma, ED visits for asthma, short-acting β agonist medication dispensing, inhaled corticosteroid medication dispensing, number of prescribing providers, loss to follow-up, and oral corticosteroid dispensing. The risk score performance was evaluated using 2016-2018 risk scores to predict 2017-2019 asthma hospitalizations and ED visits. We identified 107,811 unique members aged 1 to less than 18 years with an asthma diagnosis. For those aged 3 to less than 18 years, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for risk score predicting hospitalization ranged from 0.72 to 0.79. For those aged 1 to less than 3 years, the AUC ranged from 0.65 to 0.69. Those with a risk score of 1 or greater accounted for 20% to 23% of pediatric members 3 to less than 18 years with asthma but 53% to 56% of asthma hospitalizations in the follow-up year. Sixteen to eighteen percent of those aged 3 to less than 18 years with a risk score of 9 or greater were hospitalized in the follow-up year. Texas Children's Health Plan asthma risk score stratifies risk of asthma hospitalization and ED visits for Medicaid-insured children. The risk score performs better for children aged 3 to less than 18 years than for those aged 1 to less than 3 years.

The Role of Pediatric Health-care Providers in Promoting Students' Asthma Health.

The Role of Pediatric Health-care Providers in Promoting Students' Asthma Health.

Long-term adherence to inhaled corticosteroids in clinical phenotypes of adult-onset asthma

Long-term adherence to inhaled corticosteroids in clinical phenotypes of adult-onset asthma

Correlation between fractional exhaled nitric oxide level and clinical outcomes among childhood asthmatic patients: community hospital-based perspective

A fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) device has been developed for the evaluation of clinical control in asthmatic patients, instead of for uses in only analyzing clinical data and spirometry. The implementation of the FeNO device in daily practice has demonstrated both positive and negative results. Community hospital settings in Thailand have never used this method for the evaluation of disease control in asthmatics. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between FeNO levels and asthma control, as determined by physicians. We recruited asthmatic patients aged from 4-15-years-old (after informed consent approval was obtained from their guardians) from May 15, 2018, to July 20, 2019. All of the patients had already been diagnosed as having asthma by physicians and had been prescribed inhaled corticosteroid medications. After routine visits, skin prick tests with 8 aeroallergens were performed. If a positive result was shown for at least 1 allergen, then the FeNO device was applied for the assessment of the level of inflammation. Data were analyzed by using SPSS Statistics version 21.0. Agreement index and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to measure the correlations. From 178 asthmatic patients, the mean age was 94.9 ± 36.75 months, and 59% of them were male. The educational levels of the guardians of the patients mostly consisted of primary school, and the household income was less than 333 US dollars per month. Inhaled corticosteroids were prescribed among the patients for disease control. The correlation between the FeNO level and the control level demonstrated a high agreement (accuracy index: 91.57%). The medians of the mean wheal diameters of Dermatophagoids pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoids farinae and Cladosporium spp. were significantly related to the FeNO level (with p-values of 0.024, 0.003 and 0.045, respectively). Conversely, a number of positive skin responses to aeroallergens were not related with the FeNO level. In conclusion, a lower level of FeNO correlates with good asthma control level in pediatric allergic asthma. The medians of the mean wheal diameters of Dermatophagoids pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoids farinae and Cladosporium spp. correlated with higher FeNO levels. A device assessing FeNO seems beneficial for evaluating the level of disease control among childhood asthmatic patients in a primary care setting.

Psychological and Medical Characteristics Associated with Non-Adherence to Prescribed Daily Inhaled Corticosteroid.

Medication non-adherence is associated with sub-optimal asthma control. Identification of medical and psychological characteristics associated with non-adherence is important to enable a targeted and personalized approach when working with patients and for the development of interventions to improve patient outcomes by improving medication adherence. We enrolled adults who had diagnosed asthma and who were prescribed daily inhaled corticosteroid medication. We used published and validated instruments to measure medical characteristics including asthma features, practical asthma knowledge and perceived involvement in care and psychological characteristics including anxiety, depression, optimism, and personality traits, to assess the relationship with medication non-adherence. A total of 126 participants provided data, with 64 (50.8%) of the participants identified as non-adherent. Multivariate analyses showed that younger age, high neuroticism scores and a previous asthma hospital admission were associated with non-adherence. Interestingly, depression was associated with a lower risk of non-adherence. This study showed that a personalized medicine approach would include interventions targeting those who are younger, who have been in hospital for asthma and who rate high on the neuroticism personality trait. Given the availability of effective medications for asthma, better understanding of the characteristics associated with non-adherence is important to enhance optimal self-management.

Validation of the inhaler adherence questionnaire

BackgroundAlthough electronic monitoring is the “gold standard” for adherence monitoring, the range of inhaler devices on the market exceeds the availability of appropriate monitoring devices. Simple tools, applicable across a range of inhalers, are needed to assess patients’ adherence to prescribed inhaled medication. This study reports on the validation of an Inhaler Adherence Questionnaire (IAQ).MethodsSeventy-four adults who self-reported doctor diagnosed asthma and who were prescribed daily inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for asthma contributed data for these analyses. These participants were part of a larger study, investigating factors associated with non-adherence to prescribed daily inhaled corticosteroid medication. Participants were informed the research was investigating asthma management without explicit mention that medication adherence was being monitored. Inhaled corticosteroid medication adherence was measured in two ways. Firstly, participants completed the 6-item IAQ at enrolment. Secondly, ICS via pressurised Metered Dose Inhaler (pMDI) use was monitored electronically using the DoserCT which recorded daily use over 6 weeks. During the 6 weeks of prospective medication monitoring via the DoserCT we did not have contact with participants so that the adherence measure would reflect usual self-management behaviour.ResultsTwo of the six questions in the IAQ had poor face validity and their exclusion from the questionnaire resulted in improved internal consistency. Mean days adherent were 37.1, 29.2 and 33.2% for subjects with IAQ scores of 0, 1 and 2 respectively. Higher IAQ scores of 3 and 4 were associated with greater mean days adherent of 73.7 and 67.4% respectively. A cut-point of 2 or less had a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 80% for detecting non-adherence. The area under the ROC curve was 0.764 (p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe modified 4-item IAQ is simple, quick to complete and useful for measuring adherence with prescribed daily inhaled medication. This validation of the IAQ provides evidence for its utility in research and it will be important to validate this simple, inexpensive tool for use in clinical practice.

Tailored Medication Adherence Incentives Using mHealth for Children With High-Risk Asthma (TAICAM): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundPoor adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medications for children with high-risk asthma is both well documented and poorly understood. It has a disproportionate prevalence and impact on children of minority demographics in urban settings. Financial incentives have been shown to be a compelling method to engage those in a high-risk asthma population, but whether adherence can be maintained by offering financial incentives and how these incentives can be used to sustain high adherence are unknown.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to determine the marginal effects of a financial incentive–based intervention on inhaled corticosteroid adherence, health care system use, and costs.MethodsParticipants include children aged 5 to 12 years who have had either at least two hospitalizations or one hospitalization and one emergency department visit for asthma in the year prior to their enrollment (and their caregivers). Participants are given an electronic inhaler sensor in order to track their medication use over a period of 7 months. After a 1-month period of observation, participants are randomized to 1 of 3 arms for a 3-month period. Participants in arm 1 receive daily text message reminders, feedback, and gain–framed, nominal financial incentives; participants in arm 2 receive daily text message reminders and feedback only, and participants in arm 3 receive no reminders, feedback, or incentives. All participants are subsequently observed for an additional 3-month period with no reminders, feedback, or incentives to assess whether any sustained effects are apparent.ResultsStudy enrollment began in September 2019 with a target sample size of N=125 children. As of June 2020, 61 children have been enrolled. Data collection is estimated to be completed in June 2022, and analyses will be completed by June 2023.ConclusionsThis study will provide data that will help to determine whether a financial incentive–based mobile health intervention for promoting inhaled corticosteroid use can be effective in patients with high-risk asthma over longer periods.Trial RegistrationClinicaltrial.gov NCT03907410; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03907410International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/16711

Planned primary health care asthma contacts during 12-year follow-up after Finnish National Asthma Programme: focus on spirometry

Primary health care (PHC) providers are at the front line of asthma management. To evaluate how planned asthma follow-up occurred in PHC and whether lung function tests were used, 203 patients were followed for 12 years as part of a real-life asthma cohort Seinäjoki Adult Asthma Study (SAAS). A total of 152 patients had visits in PHC attending on average to four planned contacts during 12-year follow-up corresponding to one visit every third year. National guideline recommends annual visits. Patients with ≥4 contacts seemed to have more difficult asthma and better adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medication. Lung function tests were performed on average in 87.5% of annual planned follow-up contacts. Spirometry was performed in 70%, 71% and 97% of all contacts depending on whether it was a contact to GP, nurse or both. Overall, the frequency of follow-up contacts was insufficient but PHC adherence to lung function testing was excellent.

Design and Comprehension Testing of Tailored Asthma Control Infographics for Adults with Persistent Asthma.

Adherence to daily inhaled corticosteroid medication is important for asthma control but low health literacy is a barrier to comprehension of control status and may contribute to medication nonadherence. Infographics tailored with patients' own data can support comprehension of health status, but these have not been applied to asthma successfully. This two-phased study developed and tested tailored infographics of (1) scores on the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ), a self-report measure of symptom burden, and (2) pulmonary function test (PFT) results. The infographics are intended for use as communication and adherence-promotion tools in clinical interactions. For both phases, participants (18+ years, English- or Spanish-speaking, persistent asthma) were recruited through two primary care clinics. In Phase I, we used a hybrid iterative participatory design process to refine prototype designs. In Phase II, we conducted individual comprehension assessment interviews with the finalized designs. Infographics were hand-tailored for each participant using their ACQ score and PFT results collected at the start of the interview. Two independent raters scored interview transcripts for gist and verbatim comprehension based on a predetermined rubric. The five Phase I design sessions led to final prototypes that participants (n = 21) considered appealing and easy to comprehend. All Phase II participants (n = 10) demonstrated complete gist and verbatim comprehension. Participants reacted favorably to receiving their information via infographics and expressed intentions to engage in self-management behaviors (e.g., medication adherence, smoking cessation, weight loss, and review of their care plan) in response to the information. This study provides preliminary evidence that infographics can support comprehension of asthma control status and promote self-management intentions among adults with persistent asthma. Infographics can be programmed into electronic health records and/or standalone applications to allow for instant tailoring at the point of care.

Longitudinal Patterns of Mexican and Puerto Rican Children's Asthma Controller Medication Adherence and Acute Healthcare Use.

Rationale: Researchers tend to study Latinos as a single group, but recent asthma research confirmed differences among Latino subgroups. Variations in controller medication adherence may be a factor in the observed health disparities between Mexican and Puerto Rican children. Adherence is not a stable phenomenon; however, there is a paucity of data on patterns of adherence, sociodemographic predictors of patterns, and variations in asthma-related acute healthcare use by adherence pattern among Latino subgroups. Objectives: To identify patterns of inhaled corticosteroid medication adherence over 12 months among Mexican and Puerto Rican children with persistent asthma, to examine sociodemographic predictors of adherence patterns by ethnicity, and to investigate asthma-related acute healthcare use based on these patterns. Methods: We analyzed controller medication Doser data from Mexican and Puerto Rican children (n = 123; ages 5-12 yr) with persistent asthma who participated with their caregivers in a longitudinal nonintervention study (Phoenix, AZ, and Bronx, NY). Interview and medical record data were collected at enrollment and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after enrollment. Results: Forty-seven to fifty-three percent of children had poor adherence (<50%) over each of the follow-up periods (cross-sectional). Children with lowest adherence were Puerto Rican, from nonpoor families, or female. Longitudinal latent class analysis yielded four adherence classes: poor, moderate, decreasing adherence, and increasing adherence. Puerto Rican children had significantly higher odds of "decreasing" (odds ratio [OR], 2.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40 to 20.50) and "poor" (OR, 5.62; 95% CI, 1.44 to 21.90) adherence than Mexican children. Females had significantly greater odds of "decreasing" (OR, 4.80; 95% CI, 0.73 to 31.74) and "poor" (OR, 5.20; 95% CI, 1.77 to 15.30) adherence group membership than males. The "decreasing" adherence group was comprised of only poor children. Children in the "poor" adherence class had the highest mean number of acute visits and emergency department visits/hospitalizations across all assessment periods. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that unique ethnicity within Latino populations may be associated with different risk levels for suboptimal controller medication adherence, which may be a factor in the observed asthma health disparities between Mexican and Puerto Rican children. Increased understanding of and attention to children's controller medication adherence patterns will provide evidence needed to identify children at highest risk for acute healthcare use and offer more-intensive intervention using less-intensive approaches for those at low risk. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01099800).

Is asthma associated with cognitive impairments? A meta-analytic review

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Asthma is a chronic disease with significant health burden and socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities related to diagnosis and treatment. Asthma primarily affects the lungs, but can impact brain function through direct and indirect mechanisms. Some studies have suggested that asthma negatively impacts cognition, while others have failed to identify asthma-related cognitive compromise. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of cognition in individuals with asthma compared to that in healthy controls. We also examined the impact of some key potential moderators. Method: Data on cognitive outcome measures and sociodemographic, illness-related, and study-related variables were extracted from studies reporting cognitive test performance in individuals with asthma compared to that in controls. Results: There was no evidence of publication bias. A random-effects model examining differences in task performance between 2017 individuals with asthma and 2131 healthy controls showed significant effects in the small to medium range. Cognitive deficits associated with asthma were global, with strongest effects on broader measures involving academic achievement and executive functioning, but with additional impact on processing speed, global intellect, attention, visuospatial functioning, language, learning, and memory. Severity of asthma was a key moderator, with greatest cognitive deficits associated with severe asthma. Cognitive burden was also greatest in asthma patients who were younger, males, from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and from racial/ethnic minorities. Effects were independent of type of population (child versus adult), type of study (norm-referenced versus control-referenced), or reported use of oral or inhaled corticosteroid medications. Conclusions: There is cognitive burden associated with asthma, particularly among vulnerable groups with severe asthma. This could be due to increased risk of intermittent cerebral hypoxia in severe asthma. The clinical need to assess cognition in individuals with asthma is underscored.

Patient adherence and effective communication

BackgroundPoor adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medication is a critical problem for asthma because it contributes to morbidity and mortality through poor asthma control, frequent asthma exacerbations, acute care visits, and oral corticosteroid use. ObjectiveTo discuss evidence-based, time-efficient strategies that can be adopted by most practitioners to try to increase patient adherence. MethodsAsthma management guidelines and other key publications are used to enhance discussion. ResultsEstablishing patient-centered, collaborative care that permits effective patient-practitioner communication can improve adherence, thus leading to improved asthma outcomes. One critical strategy is shared decision making, in which the patient and the practitioner share relevant information, discuss risks vs benefits of various treatment options, express treatment preferences, deliberate the options, and agree on treatment. Asthma self-management education, which emphasizes self-efficacy, is also essential. The education necessary to provide those skills depends in part on consideration of the patient's health literacy. Practitioners also have at their disposal a variety of tips and techniques to improve communication and gather information not only at the patient-practitioner level but also at the practitioner-practitioner level, such as within a group practice or within a health care system. ConclusionTo improve patient adherence, clinicians need to consider a variety of factors and implement strategies that directly target underlying issues. Strategies may include customizing and simplifying learning and intervention regimens, identifying barriers to adherence and addressing them, ensuring patient support structures are in place, and improving self-efficacy and health literacy.

Using Focus Groups to Inform the Design of a Behavioral Controlled Trial to Improve Adherence to Asthma Controller Medications among Low-Income African American Adolescents

RATIONALE: Non-adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medications is an important risk factor contributing to high asthma morbidity among low-income African American adolescents. Qualitative research may serve to inform the design of a controlled trial to promote adherence in this group. Our interest is in developing an intervention that features use of an MP3 player to provide ongoing reminders to adhere to asthma medications. We used focus groups with members of the target population to obtain feedback on investigator-proposed asthma messages and MP3 player platforms that could form the basis of this intervention.

Optimizing maintenance therapy in pediatric asthma

There are different phenotypes of asthma, with phenotype-specific differences in medication response observed. Tobacco smoke exposure reduces corticosteroid responsiveness. Treatment for tobacco smoke-triggered asthma must start with treatment of tobacco dependence. Obesity-associated asthma responds to weight loss and treatment of comorbidities. Immunotherapy and omalizumab are specific therapies for atopic asthma, though its use is limited by expense, inconvenience, need for injections, and toxicities. Leukotriene modifier response is more prominent in viral-triggered asthma. Research on intermittent escalation of controller therapy for asthma shows best results when escalation is substantial and early. Inhaled corticosteroid medications in low-to-moderate doses remain the most important maintenance medication for a broad variety of asthma phenotypes, reducing both impairment and risk. When impairment is not fully controlled by an inhaled corticosteroid, combination with a long-acting beta-agonist, leukotriene modifier, or theophylline can be effective. Inhaled corticosteroid use in children does not appear to influence airway caliber or asthma severity after the medication is stopped. Optimizing maintenance therapy for asthma is not one size fits all. It is important to assess the asthma phenotype in addition to the symptom pattern, in determining optimal maintenance therapy.

Are the prevalence and treatment of asthma similar in elite athletes and the aged‐matched non‐athlete population?

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of asthma and use of asthma medications in elite athletes compared with an age-matched non-athlete population. Data were collected from the respiratory component of annual medical screening of 424 elite athletes from the Queensland Academy of Sport. Measures included the prevalence of current asthma and ever doctor-diagnosed asthma, and the prevalence of use of treatment for asthma including beta-agonists and inhaled corticosteroid medication. The prevalence of current asthma in athletes aged 18-29 years was 14% (95% CI, 9-19%), which did not differ significantly from the prevalence in the non-athlete control population (11%; 95% CI, 9-12%, P=0.3). Of athletes with current asthma, 27% were not taking any medications for asthma, and 25% were treated with short-acting beta-agonist medications alone and were not taking inhaled corticosteroids. These data indicate that the overall cumulative and period prevalence of asthma in Queensland athletes is similar to that in the general age-matched population. Athletes use beta-agonists with a frequency similar to the general population.

Outcomes in occupational asthma caused by reactive dye after long‐term avoidance

Reactive dye (RD) is known to be a causative agent of occupational asthma (OA). However, to date, no report has been issued concerning the long-term outcomes of RD-induced OA. We sought to evaluate the long-term outcomes in cases of OA caused by RD. A total of 11 OA patients confirmed by RD bronchial challenge were enrolled in this study. First and second follow-up examinations were conducted at 4.3+/-2.3 and 13.7+/-2.3 years (means+/-SD) after the initial examinations, respectively. Skin prick test with RD and 11 common inhalant allergens, pulmonary function test, methacholine bronchial provocation testing, symptom and medication scores were determined at each visit. In addition, inflammatory cells in induced sputum were measured at the second follow-up examinations. Reduced lung function at initial examinations did not recover at the first and second examinations despite cessation of exposure and proper pharmacological treatment. In addition, asthma severity (as determined by symptom and medication scores) and non-specific airway hyper-responsiveness to methacholine also did not improve. However, skin reactivity to RD almost disappeared at the second examinations. Interestingly, four of the six patients who showed negative skin responses to all 11 common inhalant allergens at initial examinations were found to be atopic at the second examinations. Moreover, in terms of airway inflammation, seven of the 11 patients showed eosinophilia in induced sputum (> or =3%) at the second examinations despite having been on high-dose inhaled corticosteroid medication. The present study demonstrates that reduced lung function and asthmatic symptoms persist in RD-induced OA even after long-term exposure avoidance.

Using discrete choice experiments to investigate subject preferences for preventive asthma medication

Long-term adherence to inhaled corticosteroids is poor despite the crucial role of preventer medications in achieving good asthma outcomes. This study was undertaken to explore patient preferences in relation to their current inhaled corticosteroid medication, a hypothetical preventer or no medication. A discrete choice experiment was conducted in 57 adults with mild-moderate asthma and airway hyper-responsiveness, who were using inhaled corticosteroid <or=500 microg/day (beclomethasone equivalent). In the discrete choice experiment, subjects evaluated 16 hypothetical scenarios made up of 10 attributes that described the process and outcomes of taking asthma medication, with two to four levels for each attribute. For each scenario, subjects chose between the hypothetical medication, the medication they were currently taking and no asthma medication. A random parameter multinomial logit model was estimated to quantify subject preferences for the aspects of taking asthma medication and the influence of attributes on medication decisions. Subjects consistently made choices in favour of being able to do strenuous and sporting activities with or without reliever, experiencing no side-effects and never having to monitor their peak flow. Frequency of collecting prescriptions, frequency of taking the medication, its route of administration and the strength of the doctor recommendation about the medication were not significant determinants of choice. The results of this study suggest that patients prefer a preventer that confers capacity to maximize physical activity, has no side-effects and does not require daily peak flow monitoring.

Patterns of inhaled antiinflammatory medication use in young underserved children with asthma.

Asthma guidelines advocate inhaled corticosteroids as the cornerstone treatment of persistent asthma, yet several studies report underuse of inhaled corticosteroids in children with persistent asthma. Moreover, few studies use objective pharmacy data as a measure of drug availability of asthma medications. We examined factors associated with the use of inhaled corticosteroids in young underserved children with persistent asthma using pharmacy records as their source of asthma medications. This was a cross-sectional analysis of questionnaire and pharmacy record data over a 12-month period from participants enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of a nebulizer educational intervention. Although exposure to > or = 1 inhaled corticosteroids refill was high at 72%, 1 of 5 children with persistent asthma had either no medication or only short-acting beta agonist fills for 12 months. Only 20% of children obtained > or = 6 inhaled corticosteroids fills over 12 months. Obtaining > or = 3 inhaled corticosteroids fills over 12 months was significantly associated with an increase in short-acting beta agonist fills and receiving specialty care in the regression models while controlling for child age, asthma severity, number of emergency department visits, having an asthma action plan, and seeking preventive care for the child's asthma. Overreliance on short-acting beta agonist and underuse of inhaled corticosteroid medications was common in this group of young children with persistent asthma. Only one fifth of children obtained sufficient controller medication fills.

Combination Therapy for Asthma

As treatment for moderate to severe persistent asthma, inhaled corticosteroid drugs combined with long-acting β-adrenoceptor agonists are being marketed in a single inhaler device. These combination products have important benefits (e.g. convenience, improved adherence, and improved day-to-day asthma symptom control); however, there are also problems (e.g. risk of severe asthma flares associated with long-acting β-adrenoceptor agonist therapy, high price of combination inhalers, and limited ability to titrate the dose of each component independently). Combination therapy is most likely to benefit patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma whose disease is not controlled on inhaled corticosteroids alone. Some patients may prefer this combination product to inhaled corticosteroids plus a leukotriene modifier or theophylline. For other patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma, inhaled corticosteroid adherence may be improved by use of the combination product. Combination long-acting β-adrenoceptor agonist/inhaled corticosteroid therapy is not appropriate for patients with predominantly exercise-induced asthma, patients unable to use the inhaler device, patients with either mild intermittent or mild persistent asthma, and patients whose asthma can be controlled on a low to moderate dose of inhaled corticosteroid medication alone.