- Adding a LABA to ICS Also Decreased Risk of Asthma Exacerbations Versus ICS Alone -

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ameta-analysis of 66 studies involving more than 20,000 asthma patients foundthat patients treated with both the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA)medication, salmeterol, plus an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) were at noincreased risk for hospitalization than patients using an inhaled steroidalone. A subset analysis also found that patients treated with thecombination of a LABA and an ICS were significantly less likely to experiencea severe exacerbation than patients using an ICS alone. The results werepublished today, June 2, 2008, in the online edition of the Annals of InternalMedicine.

A primary goal of asthma therapy is to prevent exacerbations of thedisease, in which patients suffer acute periods of worsening asthma symptomsthat may require additional treatment, usually with systemic steroids, orhospitalization. Findings from the study support that patients with moderateto severe asthma are significantly more likely to minimize severe asthmaexacerbations when using combination therapy without increasing the risk ofasthma-related hospitalization.

These findings contribute to a body of evidence (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) which hasfound that salmeterol is not associated with an increase in seriousasthma-related events when used with an ICS, but rather provides significantclinical benefits for patients who require more than ICS treatment alone tocontrol their asthma. This retrospective analysis was undertaken to examinethe effects of salmeterol (LABA) when used not as mono-therapy, but along withICS. This use is consistent with current treatment guidelines and productlabeling for LABA-containing products in the treatment of asthma.

In the 66 randomized, controlled studies reviewed by the authors, 35 ofthe 10,400 patients who received combination therapy experienced anasthma-related hospitalization, compared to 34 of the 10,566 patients whoreceived an inhaled steroid alone.

The study also found that 175 of 3,541 (4.9%) patients receiving a LABAplus ICS experienced a severe exacerbation compared with 334 of 4,008 (8.3%)patients receiving an ICS alone, suggesting that combination therapy providesbetter asthma control than ICS alone. The findings are consistent withnational and international treatment guidelines that state LABAs should beused concurrently with ICS in treating patients with moderate to severe asthmawho are uncontrolled on an ICS alone.

In the study, there was one asthma-related death and one intubation in theLABA plus ICS group.