A possible side effect of the daily inhaled steroids prescribed for children with asthma is stunted growth. Research now suggests that the under fives who are considered at risk of developing the condition should be given fewer but higher doses of the steroids to minimise that risk.
The American study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said this less frequent treatment worked just as effectively to control the wheezing that indicates a potential for asthma in pre-school children. The children were exposed to less of the drug, despite the intermittent dose being four times higher than the daily steroid treatment.
The risk factors identified for childhood asthma in the under 5s include wheezing episodes, having airway allergies or eczema and having a parent who already has the condition. Around 6% of American children in that age group are considered at risk and any who has had at least four wheezing episodes in one year is likely to be prescribed daily inhaled steroids.
The current research, by the Childhood Asthma Research and Education (CARE) Network, looked at 278 under 5s in the high-risk category who were either taking steroids daily or more intermittently to reduce wheezing episodes and concluded that, over the course of a year, both treatments had the same effectiveness.
Previous research by the CARE Network had revealed that wheezing in the under 5s could be controlled by an occasional high dose of inhaled steroids and not simply by a daily regimen of treatment. This has potential benefits for parents who struggle to follow the discipline of daily treatment and often forget to give their child the steroids.
Further research is now required to discover if placing children on a high-dose intermittent treatment regimen can reduce the risk of impaired growth presented by the steroids.
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