Pneumology - Original Articles
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https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2025.3355

Role of inhaled corticosteroids/formoterol in relieving acute asthma as compared to traditional salbutamol in children 6 to 11 years old on maintenance and reliever therapy step 3 and above as per the Global Initiative for Asthma guideline

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Received: 15 January 2025
Accepted: 30 April 2025
Published: 11 June 2025
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Acute asthma exacerbation, reliever, inhaled corticosteroids, formoterol, short acting β-agonists

Authors

Danish Abdul Aziz
drdanishaziz@gmail.com
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Werdah Viquar
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.

The recent Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines offer two reliever therapy options for patients on step 3 and above: the more popularly used short-acting β-agonists (SABA) and the newly introduced inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)-formoterol combination. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of the ICS/formoterol combination in comparison to the traditional SABA offered to patients aged 6-11 years old following step 3 and above of the GINA guidelines. A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care facility in Karachi, Pakistan. The study involved children aged 6-11 years old who were admitted with an asthma exacerbation and were subsequently discharged on step 3 and above as per the GINA guidelines for 3 months. The patients were then categorized into two groups depending on the type of reliever used (ICS/formoterol or salbutamol). There were 80 pediatric patients enrolled in our study. The emergency room visits with asthma exacerbation in 3 months following discharge were significantly lower in the ICS/formoterol reliever group (1.27±0.83) than in the salbutamol reliever group (1.93±1.36) (p=0.01). Mean admission with asthma in 6 months post-discharge was significantly higher in the salbutamol group (2.18±0.82) as compared to the ICS/formoterol group (1.24±0.83). Moreover, the number of patients requiring step-up control within 3 months of discharge was also significantly lower in the ICS/formoterol group, with 2 patients, than the salbutamol group, with 10 patients (p=0.02). The forced expiratory volume in 1 second value 3 months after discharge was significantly greater in the ICS/formoterol group (91.27±8.32) than in the salbutamol group (84.58±10.44) (p=0.02). Through our analysis, we were able to highlight the superiority of ICS/formoterol as a reliever compared to SABA for moderate asthma.

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Ethics Approval

Approval was received by the Ethics Review Committee (2024-10088-29895) at Aga Khan University Hospital.

How to Cite



“Role of Inhaled Corticosteroids Formoterol in Relieving Acute Asthma As Compared to Traditional Salbutamol in Children 6 to 11 Years Old on Maintenance and Reliever Therapy Step 3 and above As Per the Global Initiative for Asthma Guideline”. 2025. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease, June. https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2025.3355.
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