Background: Ciclesonide is a lung-activated inhaled corticosteroid that provides effective control of persistent asthma. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of once-daily ciclesonide versus once-daily budesonide in patients with asthma.
Methods:A total of 399 patients with asthma were randomised to receive once-daily ciclesonide 320 µg ex-actuator (equivalent to 400 µg ex-valve) or once-daily budesonide 400 µg for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ). Additional efficacy variables included forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow (PEF), asthma symptoms, use of rescue medication and time to onset of effect. Adverse events were monitored throughout the study.
Conclusion:Once-daily ciclesonide was more effective than once-daily budesonide in improving FEV 1 , FVC and PEF. Ciclesonide also had an earlier onset of action than budesonide in patients with persistent asthma. Both ciclesonide and budesonide had good safety and tolerability profiles.