Adjunct treatments assist with persistent asthma

The SMART protocol review was limited by factors that included a lack of data on adverse events, a lack of subgroup analysis, and the potential for bias, because of the open label nature of some of the studies, the researchers noted.

However, despite the limitations in both reviews, the results support the SMART strategy and LAMAs as alternatives for patients with persistent asthma, and highlight the need for further research, they noted.

The reviews were supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Dr. Sobieraj had no financial conflicts to disclose.

SOURCE: Sobieraj D et al. JAMA. 2018;319(14):1473-84. Sobieraj D et al. JAMA. 2018;319(14):1485-96.