Oral montelukast compared with inhaled corticosteroid for controlling mild-persistent asthma in Egyptian children and adolescents

Abstract

Objective To compare the effectiveness of oral montelukast and that of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) for controlling mild-persistent asthma after 8 weeks of treatment.Participants The study included 50 children of both sexes, who suffered from mild-persistent asthma, with a mean age of 7.72 ± 2.4 years. Randomly, 25 patients were chosen to receive oral montelukast for 8 weeks, whereas the other 25 patients received ICS for the same period. Fifty children, who were apparently healthy, and agematched and sex-matched with the study population, served as a control group.Methods All children were subjected to full clinical evaluation, assessment of pulmonary function tests, and measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) and percentage of eosinophilic count before and after treatment.Results After 8 weeks of treatment, both groups of asthmatic children showed significantly higher levels of all pulmonary function tests and significantly lower levels of both FENO and percentage of eosinophilic count as compared with those before treatment. However, the ICS-treated group showed significantly higher levels of forced expiratory volume at the first second and significantly lower levels of eosinophilic count percentage and FENO when compared with the oral montelukast-treated group.Conclusion ICS are the preferable primary long-term treatment for mild-persistent asthma. However, the state of efficacy of montelukast in this study, besides its oral route, may make it an alternative controller therapy for these patients. In addition, FENO appeared as a good indicator for airway inflammation in asthmatic patients.