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Therapeutics
On demand use of β2 agonists led to better asthma control than regular use in moderate to severe asthma

https://doi.org/10.1136/ebm.6.1.15

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    (2000) J Intern Med 247, 657; Richter B, Bender R, Berger M.. Effects of on-demand β2-agonist inhalation in moderate-to-severe asthma. A randomized controlled trial.. Jun;. :. –66.
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 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 …

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    Footnotes

    • Source of funding: no external funding.

    • For correspondence: Dr B Richter, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Klinik für Stoffwech-selkrankheiten und Ernährung, Moorenstrasse 5, Postfach 101007, D-40001 Düsseldorf, Germany. richterb{at}uni-duesseldorf.de.

    • A modified version of this abstract also appears in Evidence-Based Nursing.

    • ↵* See glossary.

    • ↵† Information provided by author.