Budesonide once versus twice-daily administration: meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of budesonide administered once daily compared to twice daily in asthma. METHODOLOGY Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials comparing budesonide administered once versus twice a day that presented data on at least one clinical outcome measure was conducted. RESULTS A total of 10 studies, with 1922 children and adults with asthma, met the inclusion criteria. These studies were performed predominantly with mild to moderate asthmatic patients, using doses of budesonide ranging from 200 to 800 microg per day. There was no significant difference between daily dosing once or twice for all the clinical outcome variables, including withdrawals due to asthma, for which the odds ratio was 1.0 (95% confidence interval, 0.65-1.52). CONCLUSIONS In mild to moderate asthma a once-daily budesonide regimen has a similar efficacy to a twice-daily regimen in doses up to 800 microg per day. A once-daily regimen has potential advantages in terms of patient compliance and satisfaction, when used in clinical practice.