Publication date: Available online 12 February 2015 Source:The Lancet Respiratory Medicine Author(s): Huib A M Kerstjens , Thomas B Casale , Eugene R Bleecker , Eli O Meltzer , Emilio Pizzichini , Olaf Schmidt , Michael Engel , Loek Bour , Cynthia B Verkleij , Petra Moroni-Zentgraf , Eric D Bateman Background In patients with severe asthma, tiotropium improves lung function and exacerbation risk when added to high-dose inhaled corticosteroids plus long-acting β2 agonists. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of tiotropium in patients with moderate asthma who were symptomatic despite treatment with medium-dose inhaled corticosteroids. Methods We did two 24-week, replicate, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, active-comparator trials at 233 sites in 14 cou...