|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acta Medica Medianae
Correspondence to:
Medicinski fakultet Kruševac bb, Podgorica Tel.:069/473-772; 083/ 234-320 E-mail: dmartinovic@cg.yu
Copyright 2008 by Faculty of Medicine, University of Nis |
Original article
THE SAFETY PROFILE OF INHALED CORTICOSTEROIDS (BECLOMETASONE DIPROPIONATE) APPLIED IN CONVENTIONAL AND HIGH DOSES IN THE PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD ASTHMA Milica Martinovic
Asthma is the most widespread childhood chronic illness. The most recent findings about the nature of pathophysiological action in asthma have led to a wide application of anti-inflammatory agents, inhaled corticosteroids in the prevention of this disease. It is considered that these medications, taken in conventional doses, have a very good safety profile. Increasing the dose increases the risk of causing undesired side effects. The application of very high doses should be reserved for cases of persistent and severe asthma with intensive monitoring of these patients, and “stepping down” the dose as soon as it is possible, with the aim to reduce the danger of undesired side effects. In a group of 50 patients from different regions of Montenegro, of both sexes, aged between 7 and 14 years, ten were diagnosed with mild asthma, thirty with moderately severe asthma and eight with severe persistent asthma, according to international standards of diagnosis. All respondents had allergic asthma (a serum IgE concentration statistically significantly higher than in healthy children from the control group, results from specific IgE and allergy tests). With the aim to prevent the occurrence of asthma attacks, beclometasone dipropionate was used in conventional doses (200-400 µg) in cases of children suffering from mild and moderately severe persistent asthma, and in high doses (1000µg) in cases of those suffering from severe persistent asthma, over a twelve-month period. The evaluation of the appearance of undesired side effects was undertaken by regular clinical checkups and in the laboratory (daily cortisol profile at the beginning and end of the treatment with these medications, and urinary excretion of 17-OH corticosteroids). The control group comprised 20 healthy children. During the application of the aforementioned doses of beclometasone dipropionate, suppression of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal functions was not observed either in patients taking conventional doses or those taking high doses of this medication. Other authors’ data are similar. Acta Medica Medianae 2008;46(4):13-18.
Key words: childhood asthma, inhaled corticosteroids, side effects Fulll text |