Regular use of steroid inhalers could cut hospital admissions for asthma by a third, as reported recently by researchers. Corticosteroids are medications used to treat inflammatory diseases such as asthma and chronic lung disease. Inhaled corticosteroids are effective at preventing asthma morbidity and mortality. Previous studies, however, have focused on short-term effects, raising uncertainty about their effectiveness in the long term. Scientists at McGill University Health Centre in Quebec, Canada studied 30, 569 asthmatics for over 22 years. They found that about 42 in every 1,000 asthma patients a year were admitted to hospital. But regular use of inhaled steroids cut hospital admissions by 31 percent. The rate reduction found during the first 4 years of follow up was sustained over the longer term. For every 1,000, regular use of an inhaler averted five hospital admissions and 27 readmissions a year. In this large-scale, population-based study they found that, over the long term, regular use of inhaled corticosteroids was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of hospital admissions for asthma, both early and later on in the course of the disease. Despite their proven benefits, there is still some concern about the use of steroid inhalers. The researchers said the benefits of inhaled steroids continued beyond the first four years of monitoring, only if the drugs were taken regularly and only between 15 to 20 percent of patients prescribed inhaled steroids used them properly.

Thorax October 2002, Vol. 57(10)