Beware SABA Overuse: a Message from the Global SABINA Program

Purpose of review: The goal of this paper is to highlight the design and outcomes of the SABa use IN Asthma (SABINA) research program. The SABINA program was designed to evaluate SABA and ICS prescriptions for asthma on a global level and describe associated clinical outcomes of SABA overuse. Recent findings: The results of these studies, conducted across multiple countries on 6 continents with a broad range of healthcare models, economic realities, and disease severities, show a surprising amount of agreement. SABA overuse is generally associated with poor clinical outcomes. Summary: Despite the diversity across the study population, there is a consistent and strong correlation between SABA overuse and increased asthma exacerbation rates as well as worse health-related outcomes.