Source: Annual Congress 2002 - Asthma - Therapy and management -1
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

The RELIEF study was performed in 18,124 patients, mean age 39 years (range 4–91 years), randomised at 1139 centres in an open, parallel-group study. Patients received either formoterol Turbuhaler® (Oxis®) 4.5 μg/inhalation or salbutamol 200 μg/inhalation as reliever medication for 6 months. Primary endpoint was time to first asthma exacerbation, defined as hospitalisation, emergency treatment, oral course of glucocorticosteroids or an increase in maintenance medication due to deterioration in asthma. Patients were subdivided both by age (children, adolescents, adults, elderly) and maintenance medication according to the GINA guidelines (intermittent, mild, moderate, severe). The formoterol group experienced fewer asthma exacerbations than the salbutamol group for all patients irrespective of GINA severity, with statistically significant differences in mild, moderate and severe asthma (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.0017, respectively). The need for reliever therapy was statistically significantly reduced with formoterol in all severity groups. There was a trend in favour of formoterol for asthma exacerbations in all age classes, including children and adolescents, with statistically significant differences for adults and elderly subjects (p<0.001, p=0.023, respectively). Oxis® improves asthma control and is an effective reliever medication for patients with asthma of all degrees of severity and for all age groups.

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Formoterol turbuhaler compared with salbutamol as reliever medication in asthma: outcomes from the RELIEF study in patients across different severities and age groups. Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 395

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