Some of the asthmatic children undergoing inhaled corticosteroid treatment may not respond as others, as per a new study presented at the American Thoracic Society.
During the study, it was found that some children may be genetically less responsive to steroid treatment for their asthma, as per researcher Gregory Sawicki, M.D. of Children’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Sawicki also remarked that there are many studies before him in which even the adult asthmatic individuals making a rigorous use of inhaled corticosteroids did not respond all that well to inhaled steroids.
From News-Medical.Net:
Of the 914 children in the study, inhaled steroids were recommended for 435 who had persistent asthma, meaning they had symptoms on a regular basis. Among children who weren’t recommended for inhaled steroid treatment, most reported well-controlled asthma. Among those recommended for inhaled steroid treatment, 44% reported consistently using the medicine; 35% said they intermittently used the medicine and 21% said they didn’t use it at all.
“The majority of children with mild asthma are less likely to have symptoms as they get older and may not need to be on daily steroids,” Dr. Sawicki said. “The flip side is that if a child has poor asthma control, the parents and doctor need to make sure the child is adhering to their inhaled steroid treatment. But variation in response to inhaled steroids, as other medications, is well described.”
The data comes from the Child Asthma Management Program Continuation Study (CAMPCS), one of the largest groups of children with mild to moderate asthma in the nation who have been followed over 10 years. “This study gives us a good sense of real-world practice in asthma management,” Dr. Sawicki says. “The children’s care is not directed by anyone in the study; it’s an observation of what goes on when the children’s care is directed by their own physicians.”
Dr. Sawicki also said that a huge majority of asthmatic children with mild asthma are known to develop fewer symptoms as they get older. Furthermore, these children may not actually require the daily dosage of inhaled steroids with the passing times.
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