Peter G Gibson, Ian A Yang, John W Upham, Paul N Reynolds, Sandra Hodge, Alan L James, Christine Jenkins, Matthew J Peters, Guy B Marks, Melissa Baraket, Heather Powell, Steven L Taylor, Lex E X Leong, Geraint B Rogers, Jodie L Simpson
BACKGROUND: Exacerbations of asthma cause a substantial global illness burden. Adults with uncontrolled persistent asthma despite maintenance treatment require additional therapy. Since macrolide antibiotics can be used to treat persistent asthma, we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of oral azithromycin as add-on therapy in patients with uncontrolled persistent asthma on medium-to-high dose inhaled corticosteroids plus a long-acting bronchodilator. METHODS: We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled parallel group trial to determine whether oral azithromycin decreases the frequency of asthma exacerbations in adults (≥18 years) with symptomatic asthma despite current use of inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting bronchodilator, and who had no hearing impairment or abnormal prolongation of the corrected QT interval...
August 12, 2017: Lancet