VIDEO: Inhaled corticosteroids plus formoterol potential reliever therapy in asthma

In this video, Kaharu Sumino, MD, MPH, discusses a presentation on the use of inhaled corticosteroids plus formoterol as a reliever therapy in patients with asthma from the American Thoracic Society International Conference.

The presentation was part of a larger symposium on reliever therapies for asthma and which options are appropriate for certain patients.

“We went through the data supporting [inhaled corticosteroids plus formoterol] use, either as a monotherapy or as an anti-inflammatory reliever therapy for milder asthmas ... or as a maintenance and a reliever therapy for more severe populations, and we have good data for both of them,” Sumino, who is a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, told Healio.

She explained that there can be issues in access to this option for patients in the United States because it is not approved by the FDA and not always covered by insurance companies.

“We don’t really have a clear answer to how to deal with that just yet,” she said. However, she added that there is “good evidence” for the use of inhaled corticosteroids plus formoterol in the patient groups discussed.

Reference:

• Reddel H. Use of ICS plus formoterol as-needed in asthma. Presented at: American Thoracic Society International Conference; May 19-24, 2023; Washington, D.C.