Effectiveness of indacaterol/glycopyrronium/mometasone for refractory asthmatic cough after switching from inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist therapy

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Background: Cough is a major symptom in poorly or partially controlled asthma, which persists despite treatment, thus impairing quality of life. Objectives: -agonists (LABA) in adult asthma patients with cough refractory to medium-dose ICS/LABA. Methods: In this multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study, 118 patients were randomized to receive either IND/GLY/MF or high-dose ICS/LABA (fluticasone/vilanterol [FF/VI] or budesonide/formoterol [BUD/FM]) for 8 weeks. Efficacy was measured by the Japanese version of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire at week 8. Additional analyses included a visual analog scale, the 6-item Asthma Control Questionnaire, respiratory function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, and blood eosinophil/neutrophil measurements. Registration: Public clinical trials registry as study jRCTs04122000. Results: = .0012 in the BUD/FM comparator group). Fractional exhaled nitric oxide and eosinophil counts significantly decreased in the high-dose ICS/LABA group, while neutrophil counts significantly fell in the IND/GLY/MF group at week 8, by between-group comparison. Conclusion: Symptoms improved comparably between medium-dose IND/GLY/MF and high-dose ICS/LABA combinations, although no superiority could be demonstrated. Medium-dose IND/GLY/MF may be an alternative to high-dose ICS/LABA.