Too Few Asthma Patients Are Using Updated Inhalers [Video]

Key Takeaways

Patients aren’t being prescribed improved inhalers designed to better treat asthmaFewer than 15% of patients have been prescribed one of these inhalersMore than 40% of lung and allergy specialists haven’t adopted the combo therapy

WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Improved inhalers are now available to help control asthma and treat sudden attacks, but a new study shows that hardly anyone’s using them.

The new inhalers combine inflammation-fighting corticosteroids with a long-acting drug called formoterol that opens up the airways, researchers report.

These combo inhalers are used twice a day to treat moderate to severe asthma, and they can also be used as a rescue inhaler during an asthma attack.

Guidelines from both the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program and the Global Initiative for Asthma now recommend the use of what are called “SMART” inhalers.

But fewer than 1 in 6 adults with moderate or severe asthma have been …