Concurrent therapy (long acting beta agonists and inhaled corticosteroids) in the management of asthma

Asthma is a clinical syndrome characterised by chronic inflammation of the lower respiratory tract in which many cells and cellular elements play a role, in particular mast cells, eosinophils, T-lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils and epithelial cells. Patients often require long-term anti-inflammatory and reliever drugs to achieve a normal life. This review aims to highlight role of concurrent therapy in the optimal management of asthma.

A review of relevant literature was conducted using available medical journals and Science direct via the Internet. The key words employed were: asthma, concurrent therapy, long acting beta agonists and corticosteroids. British Thoracic Society and The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute websites were also used in sourcing information for this review.

Several studies support adding long acting beta agonists (LABA) to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) than doubling the dose of ICS. This improves lung function, symptoms control and allows the dose of each drug to be adjusted to the patients'needs.

This review was able to show that concurrent use LABA and ICS in asthmatics helps in adjusting their treatment within limits hence achieving control of the condition with minimal side effects.