Value of inhaled corticosteroid therapy in long-term asthma management

Asthma, which affects more than 22 million people in the U.S. every year, poses a significant clinical and economic burden to our health care system. Patients, health care practitioners, and payers require a variety of resources to ensure optimal disease management and positive clinical outcomes while also managing costs. In addition, decision makers in health care must determine the most appropriate and cost-efficient therapy or class of agents to achieve asthma control. As such, payers rely on evidence-based medicine, including guidelines to determine the right therapy for the right patient.Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy plays a critical role in the management of mild-to-moderate persistent asthma. Despite national treatment guidelines that cite ICS therapy as the most effective and safest long-term treatment option for persistent asthma, ICS monotherapy continues to be underused. One retrospective claims study found that 55.2% of children with mild-to-moderate asthma received prescriptions for combination therapy (ICS and long-acting beta-agonists) as initial controller treatment. This practice is contrary to national treatment guidelines, which recommend a step-therapy approach. These prescribing patterns result in higher pharmacy costs, do not always ensure control of symptoms, and sometimes expose patients to potential safety risks.This article addresses the importance of ICS therapy in the treatment of mild-to-moderate asthma, as advocated by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) Expert Panel Report 3 guidelines; the role of small airway disease in asthma pathophysiology; and the clinical and economic benefits of ICS therapy.