Recommendation for inhaled corticosteroids needs to be supplemented with greater caution
Members of the medical fraternity need to exercise greater caution while recommending inhaled corticosteroids to people with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), as per Lung disease experts at Johns Hopkins.
This call for caution was made after it was found that some of the presently used anti-inflammatory medications increase the risk of pneumonia by a full third.
Almost 11 million Americans on a yearly basis are suffering from COPD and most of them belong to the category of present or former smokers.
From News-Medical.Net:
Despite the increased pneumonia risk, the team found no clear evidence that the drug therapy also pushes up rates for other steroid-related problems, such as bone fractures, nor was there an increase in deaths.
Senior study investigator and critical care specialist Eddy Fan, M.D., says the results of the analysis should not alarm patients or cause them to stop taking their medications but should spur physicians to screen and monitor their patients to find the lowest possible steroid dose that works, especially in the elderly, people with immune system problems, and people who have had multiple bouts of pneumonia and for whom repeat bacterial infection might be a life-threatening complication.
“Inhaled corticosteroids are not of equal benefit to all, and what we are seeing is that the treatment may be more harmful and pose a greater risk of harm to some,” says Fan, an instructor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Lead author of this study, pulmonologist M. Brad Drummond, M.D., M.H.S., was of the view that this finding will serve as a reminder to the doctors and patients with severe lung disease to plan and take steps for reducing the risk of pneumonia that doubles the risk of death.
Tags: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, corticosteroids, inhaled corticosteroids, pneumonia
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