Provision of an inhaled gluco corticoid and instruction on its use, in addition to usual care (UC), is linked with a lower rate of severe asthma exacerbations among Black and Latinx adults with moderate-to-severe asthma, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Elliot Israel, MD, and colleagues randomly assigned 603 Black and 598 Latinx adults with moderate-to-severe asthma to a patient activated, reliever-triggered inhaled gluco corticoid strategy (beclomethasone dipropionate) plus UC or to continued UC. Patients had one instructional visit and completed questionnaires for 15 months. The annualized rates for severe asthma exacerbations were 0.69 and 0.82 in the intervention and UC groups, respectively (HR, 0.85). Asthma Control Test scores increased by 3.4 and 2.5 points in the intervention and UC groups, respectively, and Asthma Symptom Utility Index scores increased by 0.12 and 0.08, points, respectively.
