Patients with mild asthma report more satisfaction with using a combination inhaler as needed than having to be on maintenance steroids, a study shows.

A trial comparing as-needed use of a combination inhaler with conventional maintenance inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus short-acting beta-agonists (SABA) in people with mild-to-moderate asthma suggests that 90% of those using the combination inhaler prefer it.

The New Zealand-led PRACTICAL trial, which was not pharmaceutical-industry funded, is the first to measure patient preferences for and experiences with as-needed budesonide-formoterol for mild asthma, the researchers say.

It follows the Global Initiative for Asthma guideline change in 2019 that recommends the combination therapy as needed as one of the regimens for mild asthma.