Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) top tips article
Now is the time to make MART moves for asthma.
We have been using the separate blue (reliever) and brown (preventer) inhalers for far too long. The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) came out a decade ago, yet as a nation, we still have the highest asthma death rate in Europe. This is unsurprising, considering many patients still rely on their blue inhalers alone. However,
- Blue inhalers don't treat inflammation, and
- Brown inhalers don't relieve symptoms quickly.
Maintenance and reliever therapy (MART) is a combined treatment system for asthma where a single, combined inhaler is used for both maintenance and reliever purposes, instead of having separate preventer (brown) and reliever (blue) inhalers. This system has many benefits such as reducing inflammation in the lungs, as well as providing quick relief from severe asthma symptoms, reducing asthma attacks and hospital admissions due to asthma, reducing prescription costs and it's even better for the environment!
In this article, we provide some key points and tips you can use to recommend a MART to your asthma patients and work with them to implement a successful MART regimen.
Always remember, the best inhaler is the inhaler the patient will use effectively and the inhaler choice should follow a joint decision-making process.
Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) asthma action plan
Maintenance and reliever therapy (MART) is a treatment for asthma where a single combined inhaler is used for both maintenance and reliever purposes, instead of having separate preventer (brown) and reliever (blue) inhalers.
On Demand webinar: An introduction to Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART)
Let's be MART for asthma.
Tailoring Inhaler Choice - COMING SOON
Inhalation is the main route for administration of drugs for conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The advantage of administering drugs by inhaler is that drugs are delivered directly to the site of action within the airways. The onset of action is rapid and systemic adverse effects are minimised. However, for an inhaler to be effective the correct drug must be prescribed and the device must be used correctly. Poor inhaler technique is common.
We are grateful to Orion Pharma (UK) Ltd for sponsoring PCRS in the development of resources for the Maintenance and Reliever Therapy (MART) in asthma project. The sponsor has had no input into the resource content.
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