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When would you recommend prescribing an asthmatic patient budesonide/salbutamol rather than budesonide/formoterol?

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Which therapy (SMART vs SABA-ICS) would you most likely start first in the majority of your moderate to severe asthma patients?

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6 Answers
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Allergy & Immunology · University of Mississippi School of Medicine
Answered on

This is another example of two approaches to the same issue (i.e. adding inhaled steroid to a rescue B2 adrenergic agent) which is actually more theoretical than practical since no head-to-head studies have been reported.

For me, there is an intrinsic value to using a rapid onset LABA (i.e. formoter...

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Allergy & Immunology · Nationwide Children's Hospital
Answered on

Honestly, other than cost/formulary/appropriate age issues, I think everyone with any type of asthma should be on an ICS+formoterol inhaler. Some will use just prn, some a fixed dose (plus prn), and some a fixed dose plus other medication depending on severity. Formoterol just is a better choice tha...

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Allergy & Immunology · University of Colorado School of Medicine
Answered on

I can’t think of a reason to switch other than insurance coverage. ADDING AirSupra as rescue (instead of albuterol alone) to twice daily Symbicort could be beneficial as SMART therapy to decrease exacerbations i.e. since most insurance will only pay for one inhaler (120 puffs/month) of Symbicort, th...

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Pulmonology · Evans Army Community Hospital
Answered on

I work as a civilian at a military hospital and see quite a bit of asthma. Fortunately, this means I can get budesonide/formoterol without having to worry about cost or insurance coverage (about a year ago, I helped convince the DoD P&T committee to make it a standard formulary medication). I feel t...

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Allergy & Immunology · University of California San Diego, Rady Children's Hospital
Answered on

Clinically, it probably makes little difference. However, there is educational merit for the patient that an inhaled corticosteroid once or twice dailly is the maintenance medication which isn't carried while albuterol is the first line for acute symptoms, the frequency of which judges the adequacy ...

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Pulmonology · Trinity Health Grand Rapids
Answered on

I agree with the previously mentioned answers. Where I trained, Symbicort was covered very well and essentially all of my moderate to severe asthma patients were on some variation of SMART therapy that we adapted according to each individual patient. For instance, if they tended to have more seasona...

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