High-dose inhaled corticosteroids or addition of theophylline in patients with poorly controlled asthma?

There are several management strategies for patients with poorly controlled asthma despite usual treatment. Increasing doses of inhaled corticosteroids or adding theophylline are among the therapeutic alternatives. However, the latter is associated with important adverse effects. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified only one systematic review including four pertinent randomized controlled trials. We combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings following the GRADE approach. We concluded it is not clear whether theophylline or high-dose inhaled corticosteroids constitute a better alternative for symptomatic control or reduction in exacerbations in poorly controlled asthmatic patients because the certainty of the evidence is very low.