Combination budesonide/formoterol inhaler as sole reliever therapy in Māori and Pacific people with mild and moderate asthma.

AIM: In the PRACTICAL study, as-needed budesonide/formoterol reduced the rate of severe exacerbations compared with maintenance budesonide plus as-needed terbutaline. In a pre-specified analysis we analysed the efficacy in Māori and Pacific peoples, populations with worse asthma outcomes.

METHOD: The PRACTICAL study was a 52-week, open-label, parallel group, randomised controlled trial of 890 adults with mild to moderate asthma, who were randomised to budesonide/formoterol Turbuhaler 200/6mcg one actuation as required or budesonide Turbuhaler 200mcg one actuation twice daily and terbutaline Turbuhaler 250mcg two actuations as required. The primary outcome was rate of severe exacerbations. The analysis strategy was to test an ethnicity-treatment interaction term for each outcome variable.

RESULTS: Seventy-two participants (8%) identified as Māori, 36 participants (4%) as Pacific ethnicity. There was no evidence that ethnicity was an effect modifier for severe exacerbations (P interaction 0.70).

CONCLUSION: The reduction in severe exacerbation risk with budesonide-formoterol reliever compared with maintenance budesonide was similar in Māori and Pacific adults compared with New Zealand European/Other.