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,  Persistent Asthma Severity of Disease: The patient has persistent asthma, with an 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) reference values at screening visit (SV) (Hankinson et al 1999) Current asthma therapy: The patient is currently being treated with 1 of the following: 1) inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) at a stable daily dose of less than or equal to 220 mcg/day fluticasone propionate via metered dose inhaler (MDI) or equivalent for a minimum of 4 weeks (28 days) before screening visit, or 2) a stable daily dosage of non-corticosteroid therapy, including leukotriene modifiers, theophylline, chromones, or short-acting beta-2 agonists (SABAs) alone or in combination for a minimum of 4 weeks (28 days) before screening visit (SV) Reversibility of disease: The patient has demonstrated at least 15% 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 SV or on retesting 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 a pregnant or lactating female or plans to become pregnant 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 may not have used tobacco products within the past year The patient has had an asthma exacerbation requiring oral corticosteroids within 1 month before SV, or has had any hospitalization for asthma within 2 months before SV 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