Eleven years after the first long-acting beta-agonist, salmeterol,was approved for sale in the United States, the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) has issued a stern public health advisoryalerting "health care professionals and patients that thesemedicines may increase the chance of severe asthma episodes,and death when those episodes occur" (www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/LABA.htm).The announcement followed a July 2005 meeting of an FDA advisorycommittee on this topic. What are the consequences of this advisoryfor the treatment of asthma?
Currently, inhaled corticosteroids are the most effective treatmentfor the symptoms of persistent asthma. However, in patientswith . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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Dr. Martinez is a professor of pediatrics and director of the Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson.
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