Does montelukast have a role in acute asthma?

January 01, 0001

Does montelukast have a role in acute asthma?

Leukotriene receptor antagonists have and established role as controller medications in chronic asthma. These UK researchers examined is it has additional benefit in adjunctively treating acute asthma exacerbations. They enrolled adults hospitalized for asthma (n= 87), all of whom were treated according to asthma guidelines, but they were also randomized to receive either montelukast 10 mg or upon admission and for the following 4 weeks. The primary end point was peak expiratory flow (PEF) the morning following admission.

The researchers found: " Primary end point data were analysed for 73 patients. At study entry, patients who received montelukast (n=37) had a mean PEF of 227.6 l/min (47.6% predicted) and those who received placebo (n=36) had a PEF of 240.3 l/min (49.6% predicted). The morning after admission, patients who received montelukast achieved a PEF of 389.6 l/min (81.4% predicted) compared with 332.3 l/min (69.8% predicted) for placebo. The mean difference between treatment groups was 57.4 l/min."

The researchers concluded: "In acute asthma exacerbations the additional administration of oral montelukast results in a significantly higher PEF the morning after admission than that acheivable with current standard treatment."

This data suggests that there may be an adjuntcive role montelukast for the treatment of acute asthma.

For the full abstract, click here.

Thorax 66(1):7-11, January 2011 © 2011 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & British Thoracic Society.
Oral montelukast in acute asthma exacerbations: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Crichton F Ramsay, Darcy Pearson, Sue Mildenhall, Andrew M Wilson. Correspondence to Dr Crichton F Ramsay: [email protected]

Category: R. Respiratory. Keywords: montelukast, asthma, acute, PEF, peak expiratory flow, randomized controlled trial, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 11 February 2011

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