ORIGINAL ARTICLES Effectiveness of Low Doses (50 and 100 pg b.i.d.) of Beclomethasone Dipropionate Delivered as a CFC-Free Extrafine Aerosol in Adults with Mild to Moderate Asthma

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low doses (50 and 100 pg b.i.d.) of hydrofluoroalkane-I 34a (HFA) beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) extrafine aerosol in improving asthma control. Reformulation of BDP in a new chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free propellant (HFA) has produced an extrafine aerosol with increased delivery of the drug to the airways of the lung. The study population comprised 270 steroid-naive patients with mild to moderate asthma (mean baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 sec IFEVll as a percentage of predicted normal of 65°/0-850/~). This was a 6-week, blinded, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. Patients were randomized to receive 50