Use Inhaler Only When Asthma Symptoms Present, Researchers Say

For mild asthma sufferers, taking an inhaled beta-agonist (drugs that relax airway muscles) regularly is safe, but provides no greater benefit than taking the medication only when symptoms arise. This was the major finding in a study following 255 patients with mild asthma which was published in the September 19 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Jefferson was 1 of 5 centers nationwide participating in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Asthma Clinical Research Network. James E. Fish, MD, Director of the Jefferson Asthma Center and the Hospital's Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, was the lead investigator at Jefferson.

Patients taking more frequent doses of albuterol - the most commonly prescribed inhaled beta-agonist - showed no greater improvement in lung function, asthma symptoms or quality of life than those who used the inhaler only when symptoms occurred. "We now have evidence that it is best to prescribe inhaled beta-agonists only on an as-needed basis for mild asthma sufferers. Increased need for the inhaler is a sign that the asthma is worsening and the patient should contact his or her physician," says Dr. Fish. The team's discovery may lead to a reduction in the overall cost of asthma care since mild asthma sufferers account for more than half of the 13 million Americans who suffer the chronic lung disease, he says.