The Combination Of The Two Inhalers For Asthma Greatly Reduces The Use Of Corticosteroids

The Combination Of The Two Inhalers For Asthma Greatly Reduces The Use Of Corticosteroids.
Asthma patients typically use two inhaled drugs - one a fast-acting "rescue inhaler" to stalk attacks and another long-lasting one to foil them. However, combining both in one inhaler may be best for some patients, two young studies suggest. Patients with middle-of-the-road to painful asthma who used a combination inhaler had fewer attacks than those on two separate inhalers, researchers report. Both studies tested the self-styled SMART (single maintenance and reliever therapy) protocol. "The SMART regimen was more effective as a treatment for asthma than the conventional treatment, where you just use a inhaler at a unblinking maintenance dose and a short-acting inhaler for the relief of symptoms," said Dr Richard Beasley, boss of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington and exemplar researcher of one of the studies.

These drugs are a combination of a corticosteroid (such as budesonide or fluticasone) and a long-acting beta-2 agonist (such as salmeterol or formoterol) and are sold under various make names including Seretide, Symbicort and Advair. In asthma, curing increases as the severity of the condition does. So, this grouping therapy isn't the first choice.

When the asthma is difficult to control with other methods, "we are now recommending the SMART regime. You explore the patients according to their needs. This is certainly not what you start them on - it is something you would use on diminish to severe patients".

In the United States, use of these combination inhalers is also not considered first-line psychotherapy for asthma, according to Dr Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "Patients, however, are currently using these array inhalers". If the asthma is fair to severe, then a combination inhaler is appropriate who was not involved with either new study.