Comparing SABA-free asthma management with Primary care SABA users.

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Given the evidence against the long-term use of short-acting beta2 agonists (SABA), including increased risk of exacerbations, and mortality, the latest Global Initiative for Asthma report no longer recommends SABA-only therapy. Since 2014, we implemented an ICS-containing reliever strategy (AIR/MART) at our asthma centre at the Baigorria Hospital in Argentina. We used budesonide/formoterol and eliminated the use of SABA therapy. Refer ID asthma Questionnaire (REFID) was designed to identify uncontrolled asthma that should be referred to a specialist. <bold>Aims:</bold> To test if a SABA-free asthma centre could have better asthma outcomes than a primary care SABA user. <bold>Methods:</bold> REFID has 4 simple questions (table 1). It was applied between September 2020 and August 2021 in a public hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The REFID was also run at the SABA-free asthma centre between December 2021 and January 2022. <bold>Results:</bold> Table 1 shows that the SABA-free centre achieved significantly better outcomes. All eleven individuals had been intubated before entering the SABA-free centre. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> AIR/MART without SABA, plus asthma-specialist follow-up significantly reduced SCS courses and ER visits compared to a SABA-user hospital primary care. <table-wrap><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA740/TB1</object-id><object-id>T1</object-id><object-id>TB1</object-id><table><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>Refer ID asthma Questionnaire</td><td>SABA user Hospital</td><td>SABA-free</td><td>*Difference</td></tr><tr><td>sample size (males)</td><td>105 (31)</td><td>60 (18)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Age years (mean±SD)</td><td>43.82±16.2</td><td>45.5±14.6</td><td>NS</td></tr><tr><td>ICS/LABA users</td><td>24</td><td>60</td><td><.0001</td></tr><tr><td>Smoking history: n (mean pack-yr)</td><td>31 (10 pack-yr)</td><td>22(5pck-yr)</td><td>NS</td></tr><tr><td>≥2 SCS courses past 12 m</td><td>58</td><td>3</td><td><.0001</td></tr><tr><td>≥2 ER visits or unscheduled visits past 12 months</td><td>69</td><td>2</td><td><.0001</td></tr><tr><td>Any time intubation/ICU admission</td><td>14</td><td>11</td><td>.4988</td></tr><tr><td>≥3 SABA units past 12 m</td><td>76</td><td>0</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td>Suggested Referral to specialist</td><td>92 (87.6%)</td><td>11 (18%)</td><td><.0001</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap>