Asthma Drugs Cause Most Asthma-Related Deaths

Asthma drugs containing salmeterol or formoterol may be causing four out of five U.S. asthma-related deaths per year and should be taken off the market, the authors of a new study have recommended.

Researchers from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA) and Stanford University (CA, USA) based these conclusions on a statistical meta-analysis of 19 published trials involving 33,826 patients. The results showed that patients who inhaled the long-acting beta-agonists salmeterol, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (London, UK), or formoterol, manufactured by Novartis (Basel, Switzerland), were 3.5 times more likely to die from asthma and 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized (whether or not death resulted), when compared with those taking a placebo.

The analysis found that 53 of 3,083 patients inhaling beta-agonists were hospitalized for an asthma attack compared with 12 of 2,008 patients who received a placebo. The reason, the researchers said, is that although these medications relieve asthma symptoms, they also promote bronchial inflammation and sensitivity without warning. Adding an anti-inflammatory drug to the long-acting beta-agonist added little benefit, the study found. The findings were published online in the June 20, 2006, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

"These asthma deaths are generally in healthy young adults,” said lead author Dr. Shelley Salpeter, a clinical professor of medicine at Stanford's School of Medicine. "We estimate that approximately 4,000 out of the 5,000 asthma deaths that occur in the United States each year are actually caused by these long-acting beta-agonists, and we urge that these agents be taken off the market.”



Related Links:
Cornell University
Stanford University