Clarifying SABA overuse: Translating Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines into clinical practice.

Patients with asthma frequently over rely on short-acting beta-agonists (SABA) to treat acute symptoms. This can adversely impact quality of life and increase the risk of exacerbations. SABA overuse is also associated with an increased risk of mortality. In their 2021 update on the diagnosis and management of mild asthma, the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) newly recommended that a combination inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting beta-agonist, specifically budesonide/formoterol, may be used as-needed (PRN) as an alternative reliever to SABA. The CTS developed an algorithm as a guide for deciding for whom PRN budesonide/formoterol versus PRN SABA is appropriate as a reliever. While the CTS algorithm provides necessary and precise guidance, the somewhat complicated requirements for determining control and exacerbation risk may still end up leaving some patients at-risk of SABA overreliance. This communication simplifies the reliever decision algorithm developed by the CTS for application in daily practice. A 30-s evaluation of 2 simple questions related to reliever use can usually accurately assess if a patient's asthma is controlled: How many SABA canisters do you use a year AND how many times do you use SABA a week? If the patient indicates use of > 2 SABA canisters per year or > 2 administrations of SABA per week for any reason, the patient does not have controlled asthma and PRN SABA is not an appropriate treatment regimen. Similarly, for patients using PRN ICS/formoterol, more than 2 administrations per week indicates a clinical review and reevaluation of their management, including augmentation. An education process is essential to inform patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers that overuse of any reliever is not acceptable and is potentially harmful.

Effective Asthma Management: Is It Time to Let the AIR out of SABA?

For years, standard asthma treatment has included short acting beta agonists (SABA), including as monotherapy in patients with mild asthma symptoms. In the Global Initiative for Asthma 2019 strategy for the management of asthma, the authors recommended a significant departure from the traditional treatments. Short acting beta agonists (SABAs) are no longer recommended as the preferred reliever for patients when they are symptomatic and should not be used at all as monotherapy because of significant safety concerns and poor outcomes. Instead, the more appropriate course is the use of a combined inhaled corticosteroid-fast acting beta agonist as a reliever. This paper discusses the issues associated with the use of SABA, the reasons that patients over-use SABA, difficulties that can be expected in overcoming SABA over-reliance in patients, and our evolving understanding of the use of "anti-inflammatory relievers" in our patients with asthma.