title: Comparative Analysis of Persistence to Treatment among Patients with Asthma or COPD Receiving AirFluSal Forspiro or Seretide Diskus Salmeterol/Fluticasone Propionate Combination Therapy.
abstract: Low adherence and persistence to inhaled therapy result in poor outcomes in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although adherence has been widely studied, growing awareness of the large number of patients who abandon their asthma treatment suggests that persistence to treatment may be more relevant for longer term outcomes.
  
  
  
  The objective of this study was to compare persistence to salmeterol/fluticasone propionate combination treatment as AirFluSal Forspiro with persistence to Seretide Diskus in patients with asthma or COPD aged 12 years and above.
  
  
  
  This study analyzed dispensing data from a large German pharmacy database. Male and female patients who were prescribed AirFluSal Forspiro were randomly paired with those who were prescribed Seretide Diskus controlling for month of treatment initiation (to limit potential seasonality effects), age groups, and gender. Matched patient pair analysis was conducted on a total of 11,774 patients (45.1% male) to compare persistence between the 2 products.
  
  
  
  The survival probability estimates at 12 months were 0.229 (0.02 standard error) for AirFluSal Forspiro versus 0.105 (0.025 standard error) for Seretide Diskus. The Renyi family of tests demonstrated a statistically significant difference (P = .01) in persistence to AirFluSal Forspiro compared with Seretide Diskus in the overall survival experience of the 2 populations.
  
  
  
  In this large retrospective pharmacy database analysis, patients using AirFluSal Forspiro were more likely to persist with treatment compared with those using Seretide Diskus as demonstrated by the overall survival experience of the 2 populations (12-month study period). These new data provide a basis for further research to better understand persistence behavior and to develop strategies to address poor persistence.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colo. Electronic address: BenderB@NJHealth.org.
authors: Bruce G
authors: BG
authors: Bender
authors: Global Medical Affairs, Sandoz International GmbH, Holzkirchen, Germany.
authors: Ramon A
authors: RA
authors: Hernandez Vecino
authors: Health Informatics, Healthcare at Home Ltd., Burton upon Trent, East Staffordshire, United Kingdom.
authors: Kevin
authors: K
authors: McGrath
authors: Global Medical Affairs, Sandoz International GmbH, Holzkirchen, Germany.
authors: Spencer
authors: S
authors: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D058995:Dry Powder Inhalers; D005260:Female; D000068297:Fluticasone-Salmeterol Drug Combination / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D055815:Young Adult; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D000068297:Fluticasone-Salmeterol Drug Combination; D005938:Glucocorticoids
keywords: Asthma; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Combination therapy; Fluticasone propionate; Persistence; Retrospective analysis; Salmeterol