A pill taken once a day has been shown in clinical trials to be as good as an inhaler at dealing with the debilitating respiratory condition, asthma.
Leukotriene receptor antagonists, known as LTRA tablets, have been in use by asthma patients for several years but this latest study, involving 650 patients, was specifically designed to test their efficacy in typical daily use in what is known as a pragmatic trial – ie replicating real world situations and not the artificial and controlled situation of a typical clinical trial.
The study was carried out by researchers in the UK and Canada, using 53 GP practices across the UK. The patients involved were aged between 12 and 80, all of whom had asthma. The LRTA tablets were prescribed either as the initial treatment for patients with recently diagnosed asthma and also for patients whose form of asthma could not be controlled using an inhaler alone, and the progress of patients was then followed over two years.
Reporting their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine, the research team concluded use of LRTA tablets and inhalers produced the same results in patients’ quality of life in the early months of treatment. Inhalers, however, did produce a slightly better quality of life over the longer term but patients who were prescribed LRTA pills reported that they found taking the tablet once a day was easier than relying on inhalers, with the researchers noting that patients were more likely to adhere to a daily tablet regimen.
Current health guidelines for treating asthma suggest inhaled steroids should be prescribed in the first instance for newly diagnosed patients to manage their condition. GPs can also prescribe an LRTA or an add-on inhaler when a single inhaler cannot control a patient’s condition, and the findings of this study are unlikely to change the prescriptive methods in current use.
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