Asthma Drugs May Increase Kids’ Risk of Hospitalization due to Attacks
Drugs that are prescribed to prevent wheezing and shortness of breath may pose a risk for children, based on an analysis conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The analysis indicated that drugs called long-acting beta-antagonists (LABAs) may increase children’s risk of being hospitalized due to an asthma attack. This risk however, may be prevented if LABAs are used in combination with inhaled corticosteroid medications, although the researchers revealed that they are not completely convinced that the risk disappears completely with the inhalation of corticosteroids.
Study lead Dr. Ann McMahon shared: “These studies confirm our recommendations at the FDA that are already (on drug labels) for children and adolescents to use inhaled corticosteroids and LABAs together in one asthma product.”
The FDA report involved the consolidation of data from more than a hundred studies, which include 60,000 people suffering from asthma. The LABAs included in the study were Foradil (Merck) and Serevent (GlaxoSmithKline).
The data revealed that patients who were prescribed with LABAs were 27 percent more likely to be hospitalized because of an asthma attack. In rare cases, patients may even need intubation – or die.
The risk of such an occurrence was found to be higher in kids; patients aged 4 to 11, who were taking a LABA, were 67 percent more likely to end up in a hospital due to an asthma attack, as opposed to those who did not take the drug.
There are asthma medications, such as Advair (GlaxoSmithKline) and Symbicort (AstraZeneca), contain both LABA and corticosteroid, and the FDA recommends these products for kids.
Tags: asthma drugs for kids, asthma medication for kids, asthma treatment for kids, kids asthma, kids asthma attacks, kids asthma medicine
