[Influence of changing inhalation device from separate diskus of salmeterol and fluticasone propionate to combination diskus in asthma patients].

PURPOSE: Salmeterol xinafoate (salmeterol) and fluticasone propionate (FP) combination (SFC) was reported to enhance improvement of lung function compared with concurrent administration of the two drugs from separate devices. However, there was no report of asthma control improvement comparing SFC and concurrent administration with separate inhalers in real-life general practice in Japan We evaluated asthma control improvement and patients' perception of SFC in asthmatic patients changing from concurrent therapy with salmeterol and FP with separate devices, Diskus.

METHOD: Treatment were changed to SFC in one hundred and three patients with mild to severe asthma receiving concurrent administration of salmeterol and FP with separate Diskus. Asthma control test (ACT), easy asthma program (EAP) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were performed before and after 2 or 4 weeks of SFC treatment.

RESULTS: SFC treatment increased ACT score by 1.6 point and improved asthma control status measured by EAP. Forty percent of the patients felt their asthmatic symptoms improved, of which 60% recognized their improvement started within a few days. The use of short-acting inhaled beta2-agonist was decreased in 67% of the patients, and exercise-induced dyspnea was improved in 30% of the patients. In addition, SFC was considered as convenient by 96% of the patients and made a good impression on 86% of the patients.

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that SFC improves asthma control and better satisfaction than concurrent therapy with separate devices in asthmatic patients in real-life general practice.