Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: BALLOON: Efficacy and Safety - Study by ALTANA on Ciclesonide in Pre-school Asthma Patients
Brief Summary: The aim of the present study is to compare the efficacy of inhaled ciclesonide in pre-school children. Ciclesonide will be inhaled once daily, using one of three dose levels and tested versus placebo. The study duration consists of a baseline period (2 to 4 weeks) and a treatment period (24 weeks). The study will provide further data on safety and tolerability of ciclesonide.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Females between 5 and 7.5 years and male between 5 and 8.5 years of age with normal heights, a history of mild persistent asthma for at least 3 months prior to visit 1, a forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of ³80% of predicted following at least a 4-hour albuterol withhold, and treated with non-corticosteroid asthma medications on an as-needed or daily basis, or with low doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) for at least one month prior to Visit 1. Subjects were to be no greater than Stage 1 in the Tanner classification of sexual maturity, and they had to be able to demonstrate effective use of the MDI devices and perform reproducible pulmonary function test.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Subjects with a history of life-threatening asthma, severe respiratory impairment, history of abnormal growth, concurrent disease or condition which may substantially affect growth, previous requirement for daily or alternate day oral corticosteroids (OCS) treatment for ³60 days within the 2 years of Visit 3 and/or any use of OCS within 30 days prior to Visit 1 or during the run-in period, previous treatment with moderate or high doses of inhaled corticosteroid during the 30 days prior to Visit 1
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Able to perform reproducible spirometry according to American Thoracic Society (ATS) criteria
* History of asthma symptoms that are adequately controlled in the 4 weeks prior to study entry, and meets at least one of the following criteria:

  1. History of mild persistent asthma symptoms (on average greater than 2 days per week with symptoms or albuterol use for symptoms or greater than 2 night-time awakenings per month during the year prior to study entry) and has been treated with a single-controller inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose less than or equal to 160 mcg per day of a beclomethasone-equivalent or a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) (in an age-appropriate dose) for the 4 weeks prior to study entry; individuals treated with a combination controller therapy (e.g. ICS+LTRA or ICS+long-acting beta-agonist (LABA)) in the past 8 weeks will not be eligible
  2. Not currently being treated with ICS, a history of mild persistent asthma, and 1 to 2 exacerbations in the year prior to study entry (but none in the 3 months prior to study entry)
* Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) reversibility of greater than or equal to 12% following bronchodilator administration (4 puffs); individuals who do not meet this requirement may qualify for enrollment if their methacholine provocative concentration at 20% (PC20) is less than or equal to 12.5 milligrams per milliliter (mg/ml)
* History of clinical varicella or varicella vaccine; individuals needing the vaccine may receive it from their primary care physician prior to study entry
* Ability of parent to provide informed consent; verbal assent must be obtained from children less than 7 years of age and written assent must be obtained from children between 7 and 18 years of age
* If female, willing to use an effective form of contraception

Participants will be eligible for the 44 weeks of treatment if, after the 4-week screening period, their asthma remains controlled, and they demonstrate at least 80% predicted pre-bronchodilator FEV1. Participants must meet ALL of the criteria stated below during the 8-week screening period to continue in the study:

* Meets the definition of acceptable asthma control, which is NOT having one or more of the following during ANY 2-week period:

  1. On average, on more than 2 days per week, experiences one or more of the following:

     1. Diary-reported symptoms
     2. The use of inhaled bronchodilator (not including pre-exercise)
     3. Peak flows in the yellow zone (less than 80% of personal best defined as based on peak expiratory flow (PEF) value obtained at study visit 1
  2. More than 1 night-time awakening due to asthma
* Demonstrates adherence with taking study medications (at least 75% of scheduled doses), rescue medications (using both rescue inhalers for at least 75% of rescue doses), and completing patient diaries (at least 75% of days)
* Pre-bronchodilator FEV1 greater than or equal to 80% predicted at study visits 2 and 3
* Agrees to not use a spacer with beclomethasone/placebo study and rescue medications

NOTE: In January 2008, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) approved changes in the TREXA eligibility criteria, by which neither FEV1 reversibility ≥ 12% nor a participant's methacholine PC20 ≤ 12.5 mg/ml were required for randomization.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Corticosteroid treatment for any condition prior to study entry within the following defined timepoints:

  1. Oral - Use within 2-week period of the screening visit
  2. Injectable - Use within 2-week period of the screening visit
  3. Nasal corticosteroids may be used at any time during the study at the discretion of the study investigator or primary care physician
* Current or prior use of medications known to significantly interact with corticosteroid disposition (within a 2-week period of study visit 1), including but not limited to carbamazepine, erythromycin or other macrolide antibiotics, phenobarbital, phenytoin, rifampin, or ketoconazole
* Pre-bronchodilator FEV1 less than 60% predicted at study visit 1
* Any hospitalization for asthma in the year prior to study entry
* Presence of chronic or active lung disease other than asthma
* Significant medical illness other than asthma, including thyroid disease, diabetes mellitus, Cushing's disease, Addison's disease, hepatic disease, or concurrent medical problems that could require oral corticosteroids during the study
* History of cataracts, glaucoma, or any other medical disorder associated with an adverse effect to corticosteroids
* Any asthma exacerbation in the past 3 months or more than 2 in the past year.
* History of a life-threatening asthma exacerbation requiring intubation, mechanical ventilation, or resulting in a hypoxic seizure
* History of adverse reactions to ICS preparations or any of its ingredients
* Receiving hyposensitization therapy other than an established maintenance regimen (continuous regimen for at least 3 months)
* Pregnant or breastfeeding
* Cigarette smoking or smokeless tobacco use in the year prior to study entry
* Refusal to consent to a genotype evaluation
* Current participation or participation within 1 month of study entry in another investigational drug trial
* Evidence that the family may be unreliable or nonadherent, or may move from the clinical center area before study completion
C: Main Inclusion Criteria:

* Written informed consent by the parents or legal guardians of the patient
* Outpatients
* Good health with the exception of asthma
* Documented diagnosis of asthma for more than 6 months
* Use of rescue medication only or pretreatment with a controller drug

Main Exclusion Criteria:

* Concomitant severe diseases
* Diseases contraindicated for the use of inhaled steroids
* Other relevant lung diseases causing impairment in pulmonary function
* Recurrent, episodic wheezing only
* History of life-threatening asthma
* History of any mechanical ventilation
* Clinically relevant abnormal laboratory values suggesting an unknown disease and requiring further clinical evaluation
* Premature birth (\< 32 weeks gestation)
D: Inclusion criteria:

* Age 5 to 12 years at time of screening
* Chronic asthma as evidenced by one or more of the following historical findings for at least 6 months during the past year:
* Asthma symptoms at least 2 times per week
* 2 or more usages per week of an inhaled bronchodilator
* Daily asthma medication
* Current asthma symptoms either by diary symptom code of 1 or greater or am or pm PEFR less than 80% of personal best post-bronchodilator value by diary, on 8 or more days during the prn screening period
* Methacholine sensitivity: estimated PC20 FEV1 less than or equal to 12.5 mg/ml
* Consent of guardian and assent of child
* Ability to comply with trial for 5 - 6.5 years

Exclusion criteria:

* Presence of one or more of the following confounding or complicating problems:
* Any other active pulmonary disease
* Any chronic condition presumed to interfere with the successful completion of the project or confound its interpretation
* Pulmonary function testing findings suggesting a ventilatory defect other than asthma, or evidence of existing irreversible lung damage
* Severe chronic sinusitis or nasal polyposis
* Introduction of or a change in allergen immunotherapy within the past month
* Use of more than 4 sprays of nasal steroids daily (only beclomethasone allowed)
* Pregnancy
* Current use of metoclopramide, ranitidine, or cimetidine
* Treatment for gastroesophageal reflux
* Participation in another drug study
* Evidence of severe asthma as indicated by one or more of the following:
* Two or more hospitalizations for asthma in the past year
* Six or more steroid bursts in the past year
* Demonstrated need for continuous use of glucocorticoids, either oral or inhaled
* When off inhaled O2-agonist for more than 4 hrs and theophylline for more than 24 hrs, FEV1 less than 65% predicted
* Intubation for asthma at any time in the past
* Need for 9 or more puffs/day of albuterol for each of 3 consecutive days (excluding preventive use prior to exercise), or nocturnal asthma awakenings more than 1.5 times per week on average, or average diary card symptom code greater than 2, or requirement for other medications to control asthma, during prn screening period
* Inability to perform 3 acceptable FVC maneuvers of which at least 2 reproducible FEV1s are within 10% of the largest FEV1
* Inability to complete the methacholine challenge or methacholine PC20 FEV1 greater than 12.5 mg/ml
* Evidence that patient or family may be unreliable or non-compliant or may move from the metropolitan area before trial completion

Answer: C