Patient description: The patient is a 15-year-old boy with asthma diagnosed a year ago. He presents with shortness of breath, chest tightening and cough. According to his mother, he didn't respond to the usual corticosteroid inhaler. He was admitted to the emergency department with diagnosis of severe asthma exacerbation. He is a candidate for general corticosteroid therapy. Spirometry revealed a forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) of 60% of the predicted. His past medical history is non-significant. His family history is significant for asthma in his mother and his uncle. He used to be treated with combination of inhaled corticosteroids and Zafirlukast.

Clinical trial eligibility criteria: eligible ages (years): 12.0-999.0,  Asthma Severity of disease: The patient has persistent asthma, with a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) 40%-85% of the value predicted for age, height, sex, and race as per the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) (Hankinson et al 1999) reference values at screening visit Current asthma therapy: The patient must be on a stable dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) of at least 440 mcg/day of fluticasone propionate or equivalent for a minimum of 4 weeks before screening visit, or any inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta2-agonist (ICS/LABA) combination for a minimum of 4 weeks before the prescreening visit Reversibility of disease: The patient has demonstrated at least 12% reversibility of FEV1 and at least 200 mL increase from baseline FEV1 (patients age 18 and older) within 30 minutes after 2-4 inhalations of albuterol/salbutamol hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) MDI (90 mcg ex-actuator) or equivalent at the screening visit If female, the patient is currently not pregnant, breast feeding, or attempting to become pregnant. If of childbearing potential, has a negative serum pregnancy test and is willing to commit to using a consistent and acceptable method of birth control Other apply, please contact the investigator for more information  The patient has a history of life-threatening asthma, defined for this protocol as an asthma episode that required intubation and/or was associated with hypercapnea, respiratory arrest, or hypoxic seizures The patient is pregnant or lactating, or plans to become pregnant during the study period or for 30 days after the patient's last study-related visit (for eligible patients only, if applicable). Eligible female patients unwilling to employ appropriate contraceptive measures to ensure that pregnancy will not occur during the study will be excluded. Any patient becoming pregnant during the study will be withdrawn from the study The patient has a known hypersensitivity to any corticosteroid or any of the excipients in the study drug or rescue medication formulation The patient currently smokes or has a smoking history of 10 pack-years or more (a pack-year is defined as smoking 1 pack of cigarettes/day for 1 year) The patient has had an asthma exacerbation requiring oral corticosteroids within 30 days before the screening visit, or has had any hospitalization for asthma within 2 months before the screening visit The patient has historical or current evidence of a clinically significant disease. Significant disease is defined as any disease that in the medical judgment of the investigator would put the safety of the patient at risk through participation or that could affect the efficacy or safety analysis if the disease/condition worsened during the study Other apply, please contact the investigator for more information