High oral corticosteroid exposure and overuse of short-acting beta-2-agonists were associated with insufficient prescribing of controller medication: a nationwide electronic prescribing and dispensing database analysis.

Exposure to high-dose of OCS (101 per 100,000 patients) and SABA over-use (24 per 100,000) were frequent, and were associated with a low maintenance-to-total prescription ratio but not with primary non-adherence. These results suggest there is a need for initiatives to reduce OCS and SABA inappropriate prescribing.