{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T00:47:53Z","timestamp":1791938873760,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"PAGEPress Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]],"date-time":"2025-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749600000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Monaldi Arch Chest Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The recent Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines offer two reliever therapy options for patients on step 3 and above: the more popularly used short-acting \u03b2-agonists (SABA) and the newly introduced inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)-formoterol combination. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of the ICS\/formoterol combination in comparison to the traditional SABA offered to patients aged 6-11 years old following step 3 and above of the GINA guidelines. A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care facility in Karachi, Pakistan. The study involved children aged 6-11 years old who were admitted with an asthma exacerbation and were subsequently discharged on step 3 and above as per the GINA guidelines for 3 months. The patients were then categorized into two groups depending on the type of reliever used (ICS\/formoterol or salbutamol). There were 80 pediatric patients enrolled in our study. The emergency room visits with asthma exacerbation in 3 months following discharge were significantly lower in the ICS\/formoterol reliever group (1.27\u00b10.83) than in the salbutamol reliever group (1.93\u00b11.36) (p=0.01). Mean admissions with asthma in 6 months post-discharge were significantly higher in the salbutamol group (2.18\u00b10.82) as compared to the ICS\/formoterol group (1.24\u00b10.83). Moreover, the number of patients requiring step-up control within 3 months of discharge was also significantly lower in the ICS\/formoterol group, with 2 patients, than in the salbutamol group, with 10 patients (p=0.02). The forced expiratory volume in 1 second value 3 months after discharge was significantly greater in the ICS\/formoterol group (91.27\u00b18.32) than in the salbutamol group (84.58\u00b110.44) (p=0.02). Through our analysis, we were able to highlight the superiority of ICS\/formoterol as a reliever compared to SABA for moderate asthma.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4081\/monaldi.2025.3355","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]],"date-time":"2025-06-11T09:28:39Z","timestamp":1749634119000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Role of inhaled corticosteroids\/formoterol in relieving acute asthma as compared to traditional salbutamol in children 6 to 11 years old on maintenance and reliever therapy step 3 and above as per the Global Initiative for Asthma guideline"],"prefix":"10.4081","volume":"96","author":[{"given":"Danish Abdul","family":"Aziz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Werdah","family":"Viquar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2549","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"57767","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaip.2017.05.001"},{"key":"57768","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1164\/rccm.202109-2205PP"},{"key":"57769","unstructured":"Global Initiative for Asthma. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention, 2023. Available from: https:\/\/ginasthma.org\/2023-gina-main-report\/."},{"key":"57770","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm9040921"},{"key":"57771","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pupt.2005.04.009"},{"key":"57772","unstructured":"BMJ Best Practice. Acute asthma exacerbation in adults. Available from: https:\/\/bestpractice.bmj.com\/topics\/en-gb\/3000085#:~:text=Definition"},{"key":"57773","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaci.2011.12.983"},{"key":"57774","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12931-023-02475-6"},{"key":"57775","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11882-022-01038-x"},{"key":"57776","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12325-022-02356-2"},{"key":"57777","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1183\/23120541.00239-2023"},{"key":"57778","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaip.2024.01.011"},{"key":"57779","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/resp.13889"},{"key":"57780","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1183\/13993003.01407-2019"},{"key":"57781","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/thoraxjnl-2013-203557"},{"key":"57782","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1183\/09031936.03.00055803"},{"key":"57783","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(00)03611-4"},{"key":"57784","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12890-019-1014-4"},{"key":"57785","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1164\/rccm.200407-884OC"},{"key":"57786","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1742-1241.2007.01338.x"}],"container-title":["Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.monaldi-archives.org\/macd\/article\/download\/3355\/2088","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.monaldi-archives.org\/macd\/article\/download\/3355\/2088","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T00:00:21Z","timestamp":1791936021000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.monaldi-archives.org\/macd\/article\/view\/3355"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]]},"references-count":20,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4081\/monaldi.2025.3355","relation":{},"ISSN":["2532-5264","1122-0643"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2532-5264","type":"electronic"},{"value":"1122-0643","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,11]]}}}