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Three hundred forty-nine patients with asthma previously treated with medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids during a 2-wk, single-blind, run-in period were randomized to treatment with salmeterol 50 microg combined with fluticasone propionate (FP) 250 microg, salmeterol 50 microg, FP 250 microg, or placebo, each given twice daily through a Diskus device for 12 wk. Mean change in FEV(1) at endpoint was significantly (p

Once-daily FFNS was well tolerated and more effective than placebo at improving nasal symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis in adolescents and adults ≥12 years of age.

Metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) allow patients who require therapy for various respiratory diseases to deliver these therapies directly to the airways via inhalation. MDIs are designed to contain more propellant than required for administration of the labeled number of actuations; therefore, the amount of active medication/actuation remaining after administration of the labeled number of actuations may result in a lower than therapeutic dose of active medication. An MDI with an integrated dose counter provides the only reliable means by which a patient can track the amount of medication remaining in the MDI. This study evaluated the functionality, reliability, accuracy, and patient satisfaction with albuterol sulfate hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) MDI with a new integrated dose counter in the clinical setting. Patients aged ≥4 years with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or both, participated in this phase 4, prospective, open-label study. Treatment was twice-daily dosing with albuterol HFA MDI at 90 micrograms with dose counter for either 5 or 7 weeks. Concordance/agreement between daily patient recordings of actuations and counter readings was assessed with five discrepancy types: fire not count (undercount; primary end point), count not fire (overcount), fire count up within a dose (counter reading increased, instead of decreased, after MDI was actuated), count unknown fire (counter number at the beginning of a dosing session was less than counter number at the end of the previous session), and count up unknown fire (counter number at the beginning of a dosing session was greater than counter number at the end of the previous session). Responses to twelve questions designed to evaluate confidence, ease of use, and patient satisfaction were also analyzed. Overall discrepancy rate was 1.87 per 200 actuations. Primary end point (fire not count rate) was 0.30 per 200 actuations. Overall, ~95-97% of patients were "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with the albuterol HFA MDI with dose counter, its ease of use, and the ability to tell when it should be replaced. The albuterol HFA MDI with new integrated dose counter functioned reliably and accurately in the clinical setting. Overall patient satisfaction was high with the albuterol HFA MDI with new integrated dose counter and the device was shown to function reliably and accurately. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01302587.

NCT01857323.

Introduction In pediatric patients with asthma, measurements of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) may be normal or may not correlate with symptom severity. Forced expiratory flow at 25–75% of the vital capacity (FEF25–75%) is a potentially more sensitive parameter for assessing peripheral airway function. This post hoc analysis compared FEF25–75% with FEV1 as an endpoint to assess bronchodilator responsiveness in children with asthma. Methods Change from baseline in trough FEF25–75% and trough FEV1 following treatment with either tiotropium (5 µg or 2.5 µg) or placebo Respimat® was analyzed in four phase III trials in children (aged 6–11 years) and adolescents (aged 12–17 years) with symptomatic moderate (VivaTinA-asthma® and PensieTinA-asthma®) and mild (CanoTinA-asthma® and RubaTinA-asthma®) asthma. Data from all treatment arms were pooled and correlations between FEF25–75% and FEV1 were calculated and analyzed. Results A total of 1590 patients were included in the analysis. Tiotropium Respimat® consistently improved FEF25–75% and FEV1 versus placebo, although in adolescents with severe asthma, the observed improvements were not statistically significant. Improvements in FEF25–75% response with tiotropium versus placebo were largely more pronounced than improvements in FEV1. Statistical assessment of the correlation of FEV1 and FEF25–75% showed moderate-to-high correlations (Pearson’s correlation coefficients 0.73–0.80). Conclusions In pediatric patients, FEF25–75% may be a more sensitive measure to detect treatment response, certainly to tiotropium, than FEV1 and should be evaluated as an additional lung function measurement.

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