GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today welcomes new guidelines for Asthma Management and Prevention released today from The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). The guidelines emphasise that the overall aim of asthma treatment is to achieve and maintain long-term control of the disease and introduce a new classification of asthma based on levels of control1. Recommended treatment action is then based on the patient?s level of control.
Treatment recommendations continue to be based on the GINA 5-Step approach and the new guidelines continue to endorse use of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in combination with a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) at Steps 3 and 4 when a low dose of inhaled corticosteroid alone is not sufficient to achieve control. The guidelines highlight that physicians should view increased use of reliever medication as warning of deterioration of asthma control.
GlaxoSmithKline?s Darrell Baker, Senior Vice President, Respiratory Medicines Development Centre commented ?We welcome the publication of the new GINA guidelines and very much support the major change in emphasis from treating according to patient severity to treating patients to control their asthma. Patients with asthma should have the opportunity to live their lives without worrying about symptoms. This thinking has driven our approach to treatment with regular, sustained use of Seretide?, and the clinical data support that that this is the only proven way to achieve the GINA defined goal of asthma control.?
The Seretide Asthma Control Dosing (ACD) strategy is supported by the findings of the landmark Gaining Optimal Asthma ControL study (GOAL) which was the first prospective clinical trial to assess whether GINA guideline defined control could be achieved using an ACD strategy with Seretide (salmeterol, fluticasone propionate combination – SFC). GOAL showed that 75% of patients achieved guideline-defined control with SFC. In addition, the study assessed how many patients were able to achieve the more stringent measure of Total Control (as defined in the GOAL study and achieved for 7 out of 8 weeks) and found that 41% of Seretide patients achieved this.2
GINA has also recommended the Asthma Control Test (ACT), as a key tool for the improvement of assessing levels of asthma control in the clinical setting. This will aid clinicians in the accurate, efficient screening and monitoring of asthma patients and represents an improvement in communication between patient and health care professionals. Overall it can assist in the implementation of an effective, GINA guideline-defined treatment strategy based on asthma control.1
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