During the period from March 10, 2017 to January 16, 2018 the investigators decided to describe the rescue medication in all new asthmatic subjects that came for a first visit to the outpatient pulmonary department. Patients aged ≥16 years were entered in the study with a a diagnosis of asthma, based on a history of episodic dyspnea and wheezing, and/or documented bronchodilator reversibility in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) of 12% and 200 ml according to the National Institutes of Health criteria; to be non- or ex-smoker of less than 10 pack-yr, to be neither pregnant nor breast-feeding and to be capable of completing Asthma control test and spirometry. Consecutive patients visiting the outpatient pulmonary department were included in the description.
