Asthma in Children

Study suggests beta agonist, corticosteroid combination safe for children with asthma. MedPage Today (3/21, Susman) reported that children with asthma "who take long-acting beta agonists" with inhaled corticosteroids "do not appear to be at an increased risk of life-threatening events," according to findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology meeting. "About 43% of children on inhaled corticosteroid monotherapy for asthma required admission to the pediatric intensive care unit, compared with about 44% and about 53%," respectively, of those on the combination of "inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta agonists or albuterol alone," explained Tammy Jacobs, MD, of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Moreover, after adjusting for "demographics, asthma severity, history of ICU admissions and concurrent infection," the combination "did not increase and may have decreased the risk" for pediatric ICU admission, Dr. Jacobs noted. The study included 85 pediatric ICU patients and "96 pediatric floor patients."