A prospective study of respiratory infection in asthmatic patients treated with beclomethasone dipropionate and sodium cromoglycate

Abstract

Summary A prospective study of forty adult asthmatic patients attending two chest clinics in the City of Liverpool was undertaken. All patients had reversible airways obstruction and were under treatment with either beclomethasone dipropionate or sodium cromoglycate. Satisfactory symptomatic control was achieved in both groups of patients on a subjective basis, but there was a statistically significant (P <0.001) reduction in the number of admissions to hospital in the treatment year compared to the preceding 12 months in the beclomethasone aerosol group. No increased incidence of lower respiratory tract infections or non‐specific sore throats was found in either group studied. No cases of clinical oral Candida infection occurred in the beclomethasone aerosol treated patients. It is concluded that beclomethasone dipropionate in aerosol form is not only a safe and effective method for symptomatic control of adult bronchial asthma but is also economically worthwhile as a means of reducing hospital admissions in this vulnerable group of patients.

A prospective study of respiratory infection in adult asthmatics and their normal spouses

“…The presence of school age children in the home was not associated with a significant increase in symptomatic cold episodes in our subjects, unlike previous reports (Badger et ai, 1953;Lambert & Stern, 1972). The use of inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate similarly did not result in an increased frequency of colds, confirming the results of Agnew and co-workers (Agnew, Walker & Phillips, 1977).…”

Evidence based general practice: a retrospective study of interventions in one training practice

“…Primary interventions were classified “evidence based” if they fulfilled the criteria for category (i) or (ii), with the result that 81% of patients (82/101) had received evidence based interventions (tables 1 and 2) 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33. The remaining 19% (table 3) were judged to have received treatment that had no substantial evidence from our search.…”

Effects of High-Dose Inhaled Fluticasone Propionate via Spacer on Cell-Mediated Immunity in Healthy Volunteers

“…8 Inhaled preparations have been widely used reportedly without an increase in the incidence of bacterial or viral infections. [12][13][14] Although rare, reactivation of tuberculosis and severe varicella infection has been reported in patients using inhaled steroid preparations. 9,10,25 The US Food and Drug Administration has directed the manufacturers of oral, injectable, and inhaled corticosteroids to warn physicians about the increased risk of tuberculosis or severe viral infections in patients using these preparations.…”

“…11 To our knowledge, there is no documented evidence that the incidence or the course of acute viral or bacterial respiratory infections is affected by the use of conventional doses of inhaled steroids in immune-competent hosts, and only occasional cases of reactivation of tuberculosis have been reported with the use of inhaled steroids. 9,10,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] However, studies to date have been limited to low-dose inhaled steroid preparations, with no data available (to our knowledge) using formulations delivering up to five times the previous standard dose. Given the widespread adoption of inhaled steroids for the treatment of asthma and the sparse literature documenting their effects on immune responses, we sought to determine whether recommended doses of inhaled steroids for the treatment of moderate-tosevere persistent asthma alter CMI.…”