Effects of Early Intervention With Inhaled Budesonide on Lung Function in Newly Diagnosed Asthma

Study objectives: Asthmatic patients lose lung function faster than normal subjects. The effectiveness of early intervention with inhaled corticosteroids on this decline in lung function is not established in recent-onset disease. Design: The Inhaled Steroid Treatment as Regular Therapy in Early Asthma study was a randomized, double-blind study in 7,165 patients (5 to 66 years old), with persistent asthma for 18 years old, and the smallest treatment effects were in adolescents. Conclusions: Long-term, once-daily treatment with low-dose budesonide improved both prebronchodilator and postbronchodilator FEV1 in patients with recent-onset, persistent asthma, and reduced the loss of lung function over time. (CHEST 2006; 129:1478–1485)