Although there are many risks associated with the use of nasal corticosteroids, a long-term study on its use indicated that inhaled corticosteroids are nevertheless the most effective initial daily therapy for children with mild to moderate persistent asthma.

For the first time, researchers compared the effectiveness and safety of three different asthma medicines for initial daily therapy for school-aged children with mild to moderate persistent asthma: a low dose inhaled corticosteroid (200 mcg fluticasone a day); a combination of a lower dose inhaled corticosteroid and an inhaled long acting beta2 agonist (100 mcg fluticasone each morning plus 50mcg salmeterol twice daily), and a leukotriene receptor antagonist (montelukast).

The results support the current asthma clinical guidelines, which recommend inhaled corticosteroids as the preferred initial therapy for children with mild to moderate asthma. In addition, they found no significant adverse growth effects among any of the medicines studied.

[Photo: Caltech]