Daily dosage of inhaled corticosteroid effective for reducing risk and frequency of severe asthma events
According to findings that were presented at the 61st annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma events and need for other inhaled medications can be reduced to great extents by taking once-daily doses of budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid, delivered by dry powder inhaler to children with mild persistent asthma.
Budesonide is effective as a viable long-term treatment option can may even be used to treat children who are hospitalized or make repeated trips to the emergency rooms, as per Dr. Albert Sheffer, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director Emeritus at the Allergy Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and an investigator in the safety and tolerability portion of the study.
From News-Medical.Net:
In the first analysis, 1,974 children were randomized to receive either once-daily budesonide or placebo in addition to usual asthma care. The earlier use of budesonide reduced the risk of exacerbation, or severe asthma related events by 40 percent compared to usual asthma care. In addition, children in the budesonide group required fewer interventions with other inhaled corticosteroids (12.3 percent versus 22.7 percent for placebo), and had improved lung function.
The second analysis tracked the adverse side effects reported by 1,981 children taking either budesonide plus usual care or placebo over three years. Overall, the incidence of side effects was comparable between the two groups, with fewer asthma exacerbations and adverse events reported in the budesonide group throughout the study (budesonide 43.8%; usual care 42.8%). The most frequently reported adverse events were respiratory infection, pharyngitis, rhinitis, viral infection and bronchitis.
Asthma is one of the most serious chronic medical conditions in the United States. In 2002, it was estimated that 20 million Americans have asthma. Of these, nearly 12 million Americans had an asthma attack or episode in the past year. Additionally, it is estimated that more than 30 million Americans, or about 10 percent of the U.S. population, have been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives.
The findings revealed during this study were attained from two analyses of inhaled steroids as part of a regular therapy in Early Asthma (START) study, which was funded by AstraZeneca.
