Regular versus as-needed budesonide and formoterol combination treatment for moderate asthma: a non-inferiority, randomised, double-blind clinical trial.

Background: Treatment guidelines for patients with moderate persistent asthma recommend regular therapy with a combination of an inhaled corticosteroid and a longacting β2 agonist plus as-needed rapid-acting bronchodilators. We investigated whether symptom-driven budesonide and formoterol combination therapy administered as needed would be as effective as regular treatment with this combination plus as-needed symptom-driven terbutaline for patients with moderate asthma.

Methods: In this non-inferiority randomised clinical trial, we recruited adult patients (18-65 years of age) with stable moderate persistent asthma, according to 2006 Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines.