Routine use of proton-pump inhibitors in asthma significantly improves physiologic measures of airway flow, but it doesn’t similarly improve patients’ symptoms or quality of life, according to an Archives of Internal Medicine meta-analysis.

Researchers examined data from 11 randomized trials including some 2500 adult patients. Morning peak expiratory flow rates improved significantly more among those taking PPIs, especially among patients with confirmed gastroesophageal reflux. however, symptom scores and quality-of-life measures did not show an advantage for PPI treatment.

The authors argue that their analysis provides a 20-fold increase in available data compared with older analyses, but they conclude: “There is insufficient evidence to support the routine use of PPIs in the treatment of asthma.”