Drug Ther Bull. 2011 Nov;49(11):126-9. doi: 10.1136/dtb.2011.02.0066.
Around 5.2 million people in the UK are estimated to have asthma.1 Mortality and hospitalisation rates associated with the condition fell significantly in the last 20 years of the 20th century, but have not fallen further since then.2 In 2006, there were over 1,000 asthma deaths and around 78,000 hospital admissions due to asthma in the UK.2 One pharmacological strategy that has been developed recently to try to improve asthma management is the use of single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART). This involves the patient using a single inhaler containing a corticosteroid (budesonide) and a long-acting beta(2) agonist (LABA; formoterol), for regular maintenance treatment, but also for additional 'rescue' use on an as-needed basis. Combination inhaler use is claimed to improve adherence, and is now included in UK asthma guidelines.3 Here we assess the evidence for single combination therapy, its relative effectiveness in comparison with other approaches, and whether or under what circumstances it should be used.
据估计，英国约有520万人患有哮喘。在20世纪的最后20年里，与该疾病相关的死亡率和住院率显著下降，但此后并未进一步下降。2006年，英国有超过1000例哮喘死亡病例，约7.8万人因哮喘住院。最近开发的一种试图改善哮喘管理的药物策略是使用单剂量维持和缓解治疗（SMART）。这包括患者使用一种含有皮质类固醇（布地奈德）和长效β2受体激动剂（LABA；福莫特罗）的单一吸入器，用于常规维持治疗，也可根据需要用于额外的“急救”。联合使用吸入器据称可以提高依从性，现已被纳入英国哮喘指南。在此，我们评估单一联合治疗的证据、与其他方法相比的相对有效性，以及是否或在何种情况下应使用该治疗方法。
