Tiotropium for the treatment of asthma in adolescents

Asthma is a prevalent disease affecting millions of individuals. Despite receiving guideline therapy with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) with or without a long-acting β₂-agonist (LABA), a proportion of patients remain symptomatic or have suboptimal lung function. There is therefore an unmet need for additional therapies to improve asthma control. The long-acting anticholinergic tiotropium, delivered via the Respimat inhaler, is approved for the treatment of asthma in the EU, the USA, and other countries. Phase III investigation in adults has demonstrated that tiotropium improves lung function and asthma control, with a safety profile comparable with that of placebo. Areas covered: Clinical trials in adolescent patients (aged 12-17 years) with moderate or severe symptomatic asthma have shown that tiotropium Respimat as add-on to ICS, with or without other maintenance therapies, is a well-tolerated and efficacious bronchodilator showing trends toward improved asthma control, similar to data in adult patients. Expert opinion: Tiotropium Respimat may be of benefit as add-on maintenance therapy to medium- or high-dose ICS with or without LABA; however, further data are needed to directly compare the efficacy of ICS plus tiotropium versus ICS plus LABA in adolescents with symptomatic asthma, and to establish the long-term effects on airway modeling.