FDA: Some Asthma Drugs Riskier for Kids Than Adults
Rare Side Effects of Long-Acting Beta-Agonists Are More Likely in Children
At a December 2008 meeting, an FDA advisory panel split on the question of whether LABA-inhaled corticosteroid combination drugs should be used to treat children, with 13 panelists concluding that the benefits outweighed the risks in children and 11 concluding that they did not.
In the ruling early last year, the FDA concluded that children and teens who require a long-acting beta-agonist use only combination agents that include an asthma controller medication such as an inhaled steroid.
McMahan says studies designed to address the question of LABA safety in children and teens are in the planning stages.
Pulmonary specialist Len Horovitz, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, says LABAs are an important addition to the choices of asthma-control drugs.
Horovitz agrees that studies addressing the safety of LABA-inhaled corticosteroid combination drugs in children are needed.
"Are these drugs safe or should we be using some other approach such as inhaled corticosteroids with a short-acting bronchodilator in children?" he says. "Right now, we don't really have a good answer to this question."
FDA: Some Asthma Drugs Riskier for Kids Than Adults
Rare Side Effects of Long-Acting Beta-Agonists Are More Likely in Children
LABA Safety for Teens and Children
At a December 2008 meeting, an FDA advisory panel split on the question of whether LABA-inhaled corticosteroid combination drugs should be used to treat children, with 13 panelists concluding that the benefits outweighed the risks in children and 11 concluding that they did not.
In the ruling early last year, the FDA concluded that children and teens who require a long-acting beta-agonist use only combination agents that include an asthma controller medication such as an inhaled steroid.
McMahan says studies designed to address the question of LABA safety in children and teens are in the planning stages.
Pulmonary specialist Len Horovitz, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, says LABAs are an important addition to the choices of asthma-control drugs.
Horovitz agrees that studies addressing the safety of LABA-inhaled corticosteroid combination drugs in children are needed.
"Are these drugs safe or should we be using some other approach such as inhaled corticosteroids with a short-acting bronchodilator in children?" he says. "Right now, we don't really have a good answer to this question."
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