Article Text
Statistics from Altmetric.com
QUESTION: In patients with moderate to severe asthma, is on demand use of β2 agonists as effective and safe as regular use?
Design
Randomised {allocation concealed*}†, blinded (outcome assessors and statistician),* crossover trial with 24 weeks follow up for each treatment condition.
Setting
Outpatient clinic at Düsseldorf University Medical Centre in Germany.
Patients
80 patients (mean age 48 y, 74% women) with moderate to severe asthma on regularly scheduled β2 agonist (minimum daily intake of 6 puffs) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for ≥2 years. Exclusion criteria were non-respiratory illnesses or pregnancy. 73 patients (91%) completed the study.
Intervention
Two 24 week periods in which patients were allocated to on demand inhalation (salbutamol or fenoterol) or regular use of β2 agonist (2 inhalations 4 times daily plus salbutamol or fenoterol on demand) and crossed over to the …