Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: A Multicentre, Randomised, Double-blind, Parallel Group Study to Compare the Efficacy and Safety of Salmeterol/Fluticasone Propionate Combination Product (Seretide®) 50/100 mcg With Fluticasone Propionate (Flixotide® ) 200 mcg, Both Delivered Twice Daily Via the DISKUS Inhaler, in the Treatment of Children Aged 6-12 Years With Symptomatic Asthma
Brief Summary: This study is being conducted to investigate whether in childhood salmeterol/ fluticasone propionate 50/100 bd delivered via the Diskus® inhaler and fluticasone propionate 200 mcg bd delivered via the Diskus® inhaler are non- inferior in terms of symptom control. Additionally we aim to show that salmeterol/ fluticasone propionate 50/100 bd is at least as good in terms of lung function improvement and bronchial hyperreactivity and enables a steroid-sparing management of asthma in children.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Able to perform reproducible spirometry according to American Thoracic Society (ATS) criteria
* History of asthma symptoms (e.g., cough, wheezing, shortness of breath) and meets at least one of the following criteria:

  1. Naïve to controller therapy and meeting National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) criteria for mild-moderate persistent asthma (symptoms at least 2 days per week and/or night-time awakenings due to asthma at least 2 nights per month)
  2. Current uncontrolled asthma (meets NAEPP criteria for mild-moderate persistent asthma) while receiving an ICS dose greater than or equal to 200 ug per day of fluticasone equivalent or some form of non-ICS controller therapy (e.g., montelukast, theophylline, cromolyn)
  3. Asthma is currently under control while receiving an ICS dose between 300 to 400 ug per day of fluticasone equivalent and willing to consider changing current treatment to monotherapy with one dose of ICS (current standard of care)
  4. Asthma is currently under control while receiving some form of combination therapy, such as ICS less than or equal to 200 ug per day of fluticasone equivalent in addition to a non-ICS controller therapy (e.g., LABA, montelukast, theophylline, cromolyn), and willing to consider changing current treatment to monotherapy with one dose of ICS (current standard of care)
* FEV1 reversibility of at least 12% following bronchodilator administration (4 puffs) at study visit 1. Individuals will need to hold albuterol, montelukast, theophylline, ipratropium bromide (or other anticholinergics) and LABAs per study instructions prior to reversibility testing. If an individual is receiving these types of medications prior to study visit 1, he/she may be brought back to the clinical center within 1 week following appropriate medication withholding to attempt qualification by reversibility criteria. If the individual does not meet this requirement, they may qualify for enrollment if their PC20 methacholine FEV1 is less than or equal to 12.5 mg/ml at the time of randomization. If FEV1 is less than 70%, thus precluding the methacholine challenge at this visit, then completion of the visit will be postponed several days and an additional attempt to obtain a methacholine challenge test will be made. If the methacholine challenge still cannot be performed, an individual may still qualify by reversibility criteria at this visit.
* 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

Prior to being randomly assigned to a treatment group, participants must meet the following criteria to remain in the study:

* Lack of acceptable asthma control during the 8-week screening period as defined by the following criteria:

  1) On average, on more than 2 days per week, one or all 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 post bronchodilator PEF value obtained at study visit 1) OR
* On average, more than 1 night-time awakening due to asthma, during each 2-week period

Exclusion Criteria:

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

  1. Oral - Use within 2 weeks of the screening visit
  2. Injectable - Use within 2 weeks of the screening visit
  3. Nasal - 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
* More than three hospitalizations 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 or would place the participant at increased risk while participating in the study
* History of cataracts, glaucoma, or any other medical disorder associated with an adverse effect to corticosteroids
* Gastroesophageal reflux symptoms not controlled by standard medical therapy
* History of significant asthma exacerbation within 2 weeks of study visit 1 or more than 5 courses of systemic corticosteroids in the year prior to study entry
* History of a life-threatening asthma exacerbation requiring intubation, mechanical ventilation, or resulting in a hypoxic seizure within the 5 years prior to study entry
* History of adverse reactions to ICS, LTRA, or LABA preparations or any of their ingredients
* Receiving hyposensitization therapy other than an established maintenance regimen (i.e., continuous regimen for at least 3 months prior to study entry)
* Pregnant or breastfeeding
* Inability to perform study procedures
* Refusal to consent to a genotype evaluation
* Inability of the child to ingest the study drug
* Cigarette smoking or smokeless tobacco use in the year prior to study entry
* Current participation or participation in the month prior to 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
B: Inclusion criteria:

* Male or female subjects aged 6-12 years (inclusive)
* A female is eligible to enter and participate in the study if she is:

of non-child-bearing potential; OR of child-bearing potential, but not lactating and pregnant. She declares that it is not probable that she will become pregnant during the study (a pregnancy test can be performed at the investigators discretion)

* Subjects with a documented history of asthma for at least 6 months
* Subjects with a documented history of BHR within 12 months prior to inclusion or BHR on visit 1 (PD20 methacholine \< 150 mcg or an equivalence for histamine)
* Subjects who have received BDP, budesonide up to 100-200 mcg bd or fluticasone propionate at a dose of up to 125 mcg bd for at least 4 weeks before the start of the run-in period.
* Subjects who are able to use a electronic peakflow /FEV1 meter (PIKO-1)
* Subjects who have a normal length SD score between -2SD and +2SD
* Subjects who are able to use a Diskus inhaler
* Subjects who are able to perform reproducible lung function tests at visit 1 (variation FEV1 \< 5% between the two best measurements)
* Subjects and their guardians, who have given written informed consent to participate in the study
* Subjects or their parent/ guardian who are able to understand and complete a DRC. The DRC may be completed by a parent/guardian if the subject is unable to do this him/ herself
* Subjects able to use Ventolin on an 'as required for symptoms' basis

Exclusion criteria:

* Subjects who have been hospitalised for their asthma within 4 weeks of visit 1
* Subjects who had an acute upper respiratory tract infection within 2 weeks or a lower respiratory tract infection within 4 weeks prior to visit 1
* Subjects who received oral, parental or depot corticosteroids within 4 weeks prior to visit 1
* Subjects who have a known respiratory disorder other than asthma and/or systemic/thoracic abnormalities which influence normal lung function
* Subjects with a disorder that affects growth (e.g. Turner's syndrome)
* Subjects who have received any investigational drugs within 4 weeks of visit 1
* Subjects with a known or suspected hypersensitivity to inhaled steroids, β2-agonists or lactose
* Subjects who use any medication that significantly inhibit the cytochrome P450 subfamily enzyme CYP3A4, including ritonavir and ketoconazole
* Subjects who concurrently participate in another clinical study
* Subjects who have previously been randomised in this trial
C: Inclusion Criteria:

All children and adolescents (5-18 years) with asthma in Tayside (Scotland) known:

* To carry the Arg/Arg-16 genotype and
* Currently on inhaled steroids and
* Inhaled bronchodilators according to need will be telephoned or contacted through home visits to establish if they have had:

  * Any school absences from asthma or
  * Out-of-hours visits to GP/hospital visits or admissions due to asthma over the previous 12 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

* The presence of serious respiratory or multi-system disease (e.g. cystic fibrosis, cancer under current treatment)
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Participants must have a diagnosis of asthma for at least 12 months' duration.
* A participant must have been using a medium daily dose of inhaled glucocorticosteroids (alone or in combination with long-acting beta 2-agonist \[LABA\]) for at least 12 weeks and must have been on a stable regimen for at least 2 weeks prior to Screening.
* If there is no inherent harm in changing the participant's current asthma therapy, the participant must be willing to discontinue his/her prescribed inhaled glucocorticosteroid (ICS) or ICS/LABA prior to initiating MF MDI run-in medication.
* The diagnosis of asthma must be documented by either demonstrating an increase in absolute forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of at least 12% and a volume increase of at least 200 mL within approximately 15 to 20 minutes after administration of 4 inhalations of albuterol/salbutamol or of nebulized short-acting beta 2-agonist (SABA) OR peak expiratory flow (PEF) variability of more than 20% OR a diurnal variation PEF of more than 20% based on the difference between pre-bronchodilator (before taking albuterol/salbutamol) morning value and the post-bronchodilator value (after taking albuterol/salbutamol) from the evening before, expressed as a percentage of the mean daily PEF value on any day during the open-label Run-in Period.
* A participant must have a history of \>= 2 asthma-related unscheduled visits to a physician or to an emergency room within the past year AND \>= 3 asthma-related unscheduled visits within the past 2 years.
* Prior to randomization participants must have used a total of 12 or more inhalations of SABA rescue medication during the last 10 days of run-in.
* Clinical laboratory tests (complete blood counts \[CBC\], blood chemistries, including serum pregnancy for females of child-bearing potential, and urinalysis) conducted at the Screening Visit must be within normal limits or clinically acceptable to the investigator/sponsor before the participant is instructed to start using open-label MF MDI run-in medication.
* An electrocardiogram (ECG) performed at the Screening Visit, using a centralized trans-telephonic technology, must be clinically acceptable to the investigator.
* A chest x-ray performed at the Screening Visit, or within 12 months prior to the Screening Visit, must be clinically acceptable to the investigator.
* A non-pregnant female participant of childbearing potential must be using a medically acceptable, adequate form of birth control. A female participant of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test at Screening in order to be considered eligible for enrollment.

Exclusion Criteria:

* A participant who demonstrates a change in absolute FEV1 of \> 20% at any time between the Screening and Baseline Visits on any 2 consecutive days between the Screening and Baseline visits.
* A participant who requires the use of greater than 8 inhalations per day of SABA MDI or 2 or more nebulized treatments per day of 2.5 mg SABA on any 2 consecutive days between the Screening and Baseline Visits.
* A participant who experiences a decrease in AM or PM PEF below the Run-in Period stability limit on any 2 consecutive days prior to randomization. The average AM and average PM PEF respective values from the preceding 7 days are added, divided by the number of non-missing values, and multiplied by 0.70 to determine the stability limit.
* A participant who experiences a clinical asthma exacerbation: defined as a clinical deterioration of asthma as judged by the clinical investigator between the Screening and Baseline Visits, that results in emergency treatment, hospitalization due to asthma, or treatment with additional, excluded asthma medication (including oral or other systemic corticosteroids, but allowing SABA).

Answer: B