Adherence to inhaled corticosteroids affect asthma outcomeAccording to an analysis, asthma patients tend to adhere more to oral controller medications compared to inhaled corticosteroids.

Only 70% of asthmatics report using their inhaled corticosteroid regularly when not having asthma symptoms. According to the study, several reasons were given for non-compliance to inhaled corticosteroid maintenance treatment.

One is the anxiety of potential side effects brought about by inhaled corticosteroids. Another reason cited was the lack of confidence to use inhaled corticosteroid properly. The last reason cited was the difficulty to follow their inhaled corticosteroid treatment plan.

According to the authors, the most effective method of asthma treatment is a combination of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta agonists.

Furthermore, doctors should consider inhaled corticosteroids and long acting beta agonists as their first choice of treatment for asthma patients, when switching from a single drug therapy to a combination therapy. This was even recommended by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program in 2002 and 2007.

The authors concluded that when patients could not comply with their inhaled corticosteroid treatment plan, the next therapy of choice is a leukotriene modifier.

Leukotriene modifiers help prevent the release of leukotrienes, fatty compounds produced by the immune system which causes inflammation in asthma and bronchitis and causes airways to constrict.

From Medpage Today:

When adherence was not an issue, inhaled corticosteroids reduced the risk of emergency department visits and hospitalization and were associated with lower treatment costs, Hiangkat Tan, of HealthCore in Wilmington, Del., and colleagues reported in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.


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