Abstract: AIM: To explore the effects of tiotropium bromide combined with salmeterol/fluticasone propionate on lung function in old patients with bronchial asthma. METHODS: Totally 100 patients with bronchial asthma were randomly divided into three groups, the fisrt group (43) was given tiotropium bromide and salmeterol/fluticasone propionate, the second group (28) was given tiotropium bromide only,the last group (29) was given salmeterol/fluticasone propionate only. All patients underwent pulmonary function test before the treatment and 6 months after the therapy.RESULTS: The total effective rate was 88.4% in the first group-that was given tiotropium bromide and salmeterol/fluticasone propionate and 67.9% in the second group-that was given tiotropium bromide only, 72.4% in the last group-that was given salmeterol/fluticasone propionate only with significant difference (P<0.05). The lung functions of the three groups were obviously improved after the treatment,and the improvement was more pronounced in the first group than in the another groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination of tiotropium bromide and salmeterol/fluticasone propionate can improve lung function more significantly.

Key words: bronchial asthma, tiotropium bromide, salmeterol/ fluticasone