Formoterol , a New Long - Acting 2 Agonist , Inhaled Twice Daily , in Stable Asthmatic Sub jects

Study objective: To determine whether formoterol, a new I 2 agonist with experimentally documented long duration, is clinically more effective than salbutamol in the maintenance treatment of chronic asthma. Design: Randomized double-blind between-patient comparison between treatment with formoterol and with salbutamol during four weeks. Setting: Asthma/allergy department in a university hospital. Patients: Thirty-seven patients with chronic stable asthma, who during a two-week run-in period with inhaled salbutamol, 4 x 100 p.g twice a day, used at least four additional doses (100 each) daily, were randomly assigned to use either formoterol or salbutainol. Thirty-five patients were evaluated for efficacy. One early withdrawal and one dropout were found in the salbutamol group. The groups were similar with respect to demographic data and baseline lung function.