Switching from conventional to extrafine aerosol beclomethasone dipropionate therapy in children: a 6-month, open- label, randomized trial.
BACKGROUND
In adults with asthma, hydrofluoralkane-134a beclomethasone dipropionate (HFA-BDP) extrafine aerosol provides equivalent asthma control at half the daily dose of conventional chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-BDP.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to compare the efficacy and tolerability of switching from CFC-BDP to HFA-BDP at half the daily dose in children with stable asthma.


METHODS
This 6-month, open-label, randomized, multicenter study enrolled 520 children aged 5 to 11 years with well-controlled asthma receiving inhaled CFC-BDP or budesonide 200 to 800 microg/d x. (Four hundred fifty-two patients were using doses within the recommended range of 200-400 microg and were analyzed separately.) During a 4-week run-in period, patients used CFC-BDP plus a spacer (CFC-BDP+S) at approximately the same dose as they were using before study entry. Patients were then randomized in a 1:3 ratio to continue on CFC-BDP+S or switch to HFA-BDP Autohaler at half the daily dose.


RESULTS
The change from baseline in morning peak expiratory flow was significantly greater in patients receiving 100-200 microg of HFA-BDP compared with those receiving 200-400 microg of CFC-BDP+S at weeks 7 to 8 (8.5 and 0.4 L/min, respectively; P =.014), with continuing improvement in both groups over 6 months (12.2 and 12.4 L/min, respectively, at month 6). There were no significant differences between treatments in mean change from baseline in FEV(1), percentage of days or nights without asthma symptoms, and daily beta-agonist use over the 6-month treatment period. The proportion of patients who had one or more asthma exacerbations, the incidence of adverse events, and the percentage change from baseline in 24-hour urinary free cortisol levels were similar in the 2 treatment groups.


CONCLUSIONS
This study confirms that asthma control can be well maintained in children when switching from CFC-BDP+S to an HFA-BDP Autohaler at doses as low as 100 to 200 microg/d.
Szefler
Stanley J
SJ
National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO 80206, USA.
Warner
John
J
Staab
Doris
D
Wahn
Ulrich
U
Le Bourgeois
Muriel
M
van Essen-Zandvliet
Elisabeth E M
EE
Arora
Sujata
S
Pedersen
Søren
S
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000335:Aerosol Propellants; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001507:Beclomethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017402:Chlorofluorocarbons / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006845:Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D005466:Fluorocarbons
D000335:Aerosol Propellants; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D001507:Beclomethasone; D017402:Chlorofluorocarbons; D006845:Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated; C094049:apaflurane; D005466:Fluorocarbons