Corticosteroids for Asthma
Authors: Benjamin Littenberg, Andre S. Midgette
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1990)

Letters1 November 1990Corticosteroids for AsthmaBenjamin Littenberg, MD, Andre S. Midgette, MD, MPHBenjamin Littenberg, MDSearch for more papers by this author, Andre S. Midgette, MD, MPHSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-113-9-719 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the Editors:We were interested to read in the recent report by Stein and Cole (1) that methylprednisolone was not found to be beneficial in the emergency treatment of acute asthma. The study's methods, however, have several aspects that lead us to question their conclusions. First, we compared the beta-agonist therapy used in this study to that used in a previous study that found methylprednisolone to be beneficial (2). Stein and Cole used inhaled beta-agonists every 30 minutes or every hour; the previous study used inhaled drug every 2 hours. Stein and Cole used subcutaneous beta-agonists very sparingly; the...References1. Stein L and Cole R. Early administration of corticosteroids in emergency room treatment of acute asthma. Ann Intern Med. 1990;112:822-7. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Littenberg B and Gluck E. A controlled trial of methylprednisolone in the emergency treatment of acute asthma. N Engl J Med. 1986;314:150-2. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Schneider S, Pipher A, Britton H, Borok Z, and Harcup C. High-dose methylprednisolone as initial therapy in patients with acute bronchospasm. J Asthma. 1988;25:189-93. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. Stein L and Cole R. Early administration of corticosteroids in emergency room treatment of acute asthma. Ann Intern Med. 1990;112:822-7. LinkGoogle Scholar1. Stein L and Cole R. Early administration of corticosteroids in emergency room treatment of acute asthma. Ann Intern Med. 1990;112:822-7. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Littenberg B and Gluck E. A controlled trial of methylprednisolone in the emergency treatment of acute asthma. N Engl J Med. 1986;314:150-2. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Schneider S, Pipher A, Britton H, Borok Z, and Harcup C. High-dose methylprednisolone as initial therapy in patients with acute bronchospasm. J Asthma. 1988;25:189-93. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Colacone A, Wolkove N, Stern E, Afilato M, Rosenthal T, and Kreisman H. Continuous nebulization of albuterol (salbutamol) in acute asthma. Chest. 1990;97:693-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Hall J and Wood L. Management of the critically ill asthmatic patient. Med Clin North Am. 1990;74:779-95. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Benjamin Littenberg, MD; Andre S. Midgette, MD, MPH PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited bySalbutamol treatment of acute severe asthma in the ED: MDI versus hand-held nebulizerEarly administration of hydrocortisone in the emergency room treatment of acute asthma: A controlled clinical trial 1 November 1990Volume 113, Issue 9Page: 719-720KeywordsAsthmaDrugs ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 November 1990 PDF downloadLoading ...