Inhaled steroids reduce asthma hospitalizations

Patients with moderate to severe asthma should include inhaled steroids in their therapeutic regimen, according to a study published in the March 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Inhaled steroids are anti-inflammatory and represent the second-most frequently dispensed group of asthma drugs behind beta-agonists, according to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In the three-year study, the researchers monitored hospitalization rates and drug use among about 17,000 asthma patients enrolled in Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a Boston-based HMO. During the course of the study, the patients accounted for 2,245 emergency department visits for asthma, and 742 hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of asthma.

Patients who were given inhaled steroids were at 50% less risk of hospitalization than patients who were not given inhaled steroids, according to the study. Use of beta-agonists also was associated with reduced risk of hospitalization, but only among patients who received fewer than three prescriptions per year. Patients receiving more than eight prescriptions per year for beta-agonists were four times more likely to be hospitalized than patients who received no beta-agonists.

The researchers noted, however, that inhaled steroids were most effective in decreasing risk of hospitalization when prescribed in conjunction with moderate doses of beta-agonists.