Effectiveness of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β-agonists combinations in real clinical practice: results of a multicenter cross-sectional study in Russian patients with asthma

Asthma management approaches are improving yearly, but the problem of asthma control is still acute. Combinations of inhaled glucocorticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting β₂-agonists (LABA) play a crucial role in asthma therapy, but their effectiveness in real practice can be insufficient, and asthma control level in the population remains low. Optimizing the use of these drugs, changing the usual therapy regimens, and implementing upgraded inhalers can improve adherence to treatment and inhalation technique, which affects the effectiveness of the therapy.

The study aimed to describe the key characteristics of the patient population getting asthma treatment in real clinical practice and assess factors influencing asthma control, including adherence to therapy.

Methods. A single-stage cross-sectional observational study in 124 primary health care centers in 22 cities of the Russian Federation included 3,214 patients > 18 years old, with a clinical diagnosis of asthma for at least 1 year, who were able to perform a spirometry test and fill out the ACQ-5 and TAI-12 questionnaires.

Results. Assessment of asthma control with the ACQ-5 questionnaire showed that most patients had uncontrolled asthma (56%). Controlled and partially controlled asthma was diagnosed in 21 and 19% of patients, respectively. 4% of patients had severe uncontrolled asthma. The TAI questionnaire revealed low adherence to therapy in more than half of the patients (53.6%). The rate of patients with controlled asthma and the average annual frequency of exacerbations were significantly lower in subgroups of patients who received therapy with extrafine ICS/LABA and ICS/formoterol in single inhaler regimen, compared with controller therapy using fixed and free combinations of ICS and LABA.

Conclusion. The main causes of insufficient asthma control are low adherence to treatment, inhalation errors, monotherapy with ICS, asthma with small airways dysfunction, and adverse events associated with ICS. Prescribing the combinations of ICS/LABA in the form of extra-fine aerosol and using it in the Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) regimen can significantly increase asthma control, reduce the risk of adverse events, and increase patient adherence to treatment. A potential alternative to improve asthma control is administering ICS-LABA combinations once daily.

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