Effectiveness and Quality-of-life Improvement with Fluticasone Furoate/Vilanterol in Asthma Patients: An Observational Study

Background and aim: Asthma represents a diverse set of pulmonary symptoms encompassing wheezing, dyspnea, chest congestion, and cough that evolve in severity and expiratory airflow resistance over time.Fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/Vi) is used for asthma treatment globally.Currently, studies evaluating the efficacy of FF/Vi combination in asthmatic patients from India are scarce.This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of (FF/Vi) (100/25 g) in asthma patients by measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) through the St George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and spirometry. Materials and methods:The current study was a 6-month prospective observational monitoring of 65 asthma patients conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad.FF/Vi (100/25 g) was given once daily at the same time every day to all the asthma patients as a dry powder oral inhalation.Spirometry, demographic, and HRQoL data were collected.The mean difference (MD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.Results: Statistically significant improvements from baseline to final time point was observed in (SGRQ) scores (MD 19.18; 95% CI: 19.08-19.29),forced expiratory volume in 1 second% predicted (FEV1%pred) value (MD 10.88; 95% CI: 9.46-12.31),and forced vital capacity (FVC) value (MD 16.13; 95% CI: 17.49-14.77).Cough and shortness of breath were found to have statistically significant improvements over time.In the multinomial logistic regression model, FEV1% predicted, shortness of breath, male gender, and comorbidities were found to have a statistically significant effect on SGRQ score.Conclusion: FF/Vi improved asthma symptoms and HRQoL with modest improvements in FEV1%pred and FVC%pred.These findings suggest that FF/Vi may be an effective inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting 2-agonist (LABA) treatment option for symptomatic asthma patients.