Corticosteroids may be best asthma treatment for children

AORN Journal,  March, 2006  

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Although both inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) can help control mild to moderate persistent asthma in school-age children, ICS may be the more effective treatment, according to a Jan 12, 2006, news release from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. During a 16-week study, researchers administered ICS twice daily or LTRAs nightly to more than 100 children ages six to 17 years who had mild to moderate persistent asthma.

Although the administration of both ICS and LTRAs led to significant improvements in many measures of participants' asthma control, participants who received ICS showed greater mean improvements across many other outcomes after eight weeks of therapy than participants who received LTRAs. Participants taking ICS experienced more days in which they had no daytime or nighttime asthma symptoms and had better pulmonary responses and inflammatory biomarkers than the participants taking LTRAs.

ICS Most Effective for Persistent Asthma in Children, According to Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology (news release, Milwaukee: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Jan 12, 2006).

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