ICS still overlooked as first-line asthma therapy: leading GP
Concerns about excessive use of SABAs are reflected in a new global report on managing the condition.
A leading GP has called for wider use of inhaled corticosteroids for both adults and children with asthma to combat the overuse of short-acting beta2 agonists alone.
Dr Kerry Hancock, chair of the RACGP Respiratory Medicine Specific Interest Group, said low-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) were overlooked in asthma management as first-line therapy, despite being recommended in major guidelines.
“The challenge is in GPs feeling confident about which patients should have preventer therapy,” she tells AusDoc.
The Australian Asthma Handbook currently advises low-dose ICS-containing treatment for all severities of asthma — a recommendation that was echoed in an updated report from the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) published last month.
