Review
Use of corticosteroids in treatment of patients with asthma

https://doi.org/10.1016/0091-6749(89)90397-7Get rights and content

Abstract

Corticosteroids are fundamental to the treatment of asthma, but they should be used as part of an overall plan of treatment that includes reduction in allergen exposure. Each patient should have a tailor-made treatment plan based on a careful assessment of the severity of the disease and aimed at achieving normal airway function, as defined by history, inhalation challenges, and lack of variability of home flow-meter readings. ACSs and SCSs should be regarded as different kinds of drugs, and both drugs are needed in the treatment plan. The ways in which these drugs act in patients with asthma to reduce BHR are largely unknown, but ongoing research, based on biopsy specimens, may well provide important clues about their actions and thus about the causes of asthma.

Cited by (19)

  • Glucocorticoid therapy for asthma: Clinical pharmacology

    1991, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
  • Ann Janet Woolcock 1937-2001

    2014, Historical Records of Australian Science
View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text