Asthma exacerbations and inhaled corticosteroids

Abstract:

Sir—TW Harrison and colleagues (Jan 24, p 271) 1 examine the effects of doubling the dose of inhaled corticosteroids on prevention of exacerbations in asthmatic patients. However, the results of the study cannot be generalised to the asthmatic population as a whole because the patients were a select group of individuals—ie, those who had taken a course of oral corticosteroids or who had doubled their inhaled corticosteroid dose in the past 12 months. Whether these patients were brittle asthmatics or “frequent exacerbators” was not clear. Moreover, seasonal effects were not factored into the analysis and we are not told whether patients with atopic asthma and concomitant allergic rhinitis (who frequently experience exacerbations during the pollen season) were equally balanced between the two groups. I also feel uncomfortable with the subjectivity involved in the decision to start oral prednisolone, which was the …

Año de publicación:

2004

Keywords:

Fuente:

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