Prn Budesonide/Formoterol Versus Regular Budesonide/Formoterol Plus Prn Terbutaline in Mild-Moderate Asthma

Asthma is a problem worldwide, with an estimated 300 million affected individuals.There is evidence that asthma prevalence has been increasing in the last decades in some countries, including Italy. Analyses of the cost of asthma lead to conclude that the burden of the disease depend on the extent to which exacerbations are avoided since emergency treatment is more expensive than regular treatment. Based on solid evidence, international guidelines recommend regular treatment with low dose ICS for mild persistent asthma and treatment with combination therapy \[low dose ICS plus long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA)\] for patients with asthma not controlled by low doses ICS alone. Recent studies have undermined the axiom that treatment with ICS must be regular to achieve and maintain asthma control, as equivalent control has been obtained either with prn use of an inhaled combination of a short acting beta2 agonist (SABA) and an ICS, or with a short course of 10 days high dose ICS at the start of exacerbations. In moderate-severe asthma regularly treated with inhaled ICS/LABA combination, the symptom-driven use of the same inhaled ICS/LABA combination as reliever is superior to the symptom-driven use of SABA or LABA alone.