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THURSDAY, June 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Compared to treatment with an inhaled glucocorticoid alone, combination therapy with a long-acting \u03b22<\/sub>-agonist (LABA) and an inhaled glucocorticoid is not associated with a significantly higher risk of serious asthma-related events, according to a study published online June 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/i>.<\/p>\n William W. Busse, M.D., from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, and colleagues performed a combined analysis of four trials comparing an inhaled glucocorticoid plus a LABA with an inhaled glucocorticoid alone in adolescents and adults with asthma.<\/p>\n The researchers identified three asthma-related intubations (two in the inhaled-glucocorticoid group, one in the combination therapy group) and two asthma-related deaths (both in the combination-therapy group) in four patients among the 36,010 patients in the intention-to-treat study. In a secondary analysis of serious asthma-related events, 0.6 percent of 18,006 patients in the inhaled-glucocorticoid group and 0.66 percent of 18,004 patients in the combination-therapy group had at last one composite event (relative risk in the combination therapy group, 1.09; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.83 to 1.43; P = 0.55); 11.7 and 9.8 percent, respectively, had at least one asthma exacerbation (relative risk, 0.83; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.78 to 0.89; P < 0.001).<\/p>\n “Combination therapy with a LABA plus an inhaled glucocorticoid did not result in a significantly higher risk of serious asthma-related events than treatment with an inhaled glucocorticoid alone but resulted in significantly fewer asthma exacerbations,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n