The involved researchers were studying the effectiveness of both a low-dose corticosteroid (budesonide) and beta2-agonist (formoterol) in a single inhaler.

The review appeared in an issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization evaluating research in all health care aspects.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Encouraging people to use their preventive medication is important, as it is often the case that people with asthma default on their inhaled corticosteroids,” said lead reviewer Christopher Cates, M.D., at the Community Health Sciences of St. George’s at the University of London. “This is partly because inhaled steroids do not make an immediate difference to asthma symptoms.”

In most studies, participants had treatment with a single inhaler – one inhalation of 80/4.5 milligrams of budesonide/formoterol twice daily, and as needed. Patients in the control groups used their prescribed inhaled corticosteroid with a separate reliever inhaler. Cates and his colleague evaluated three studies that included more than 4,200 adults and adolescents with chronic asthma. One study also included 224 children.

The Cochrane reviewers found no significant reduction in the number of asthma exacerbations that required hospitalization among the patients who used single inhaler therapy.

It was remarked by Cates that one benefit of combined inhalers is that inhaled corticosteroids can be administered on an automatic basis with the beta-agonist when it comes to relieving symptoms.