Drugs Five Years Later

Abstract

Experience with beclomethasone dipropionate during the past 5 yr has confirmed and extended the original observation that it is an effective, topically active corticosteroid of great value in treating asthma. Most steroid-dependent asthmatic patients can be successfully controlled with the drug at least most of the time, and the therapeutic effect is dose-dependent. Although high doses may be associated with some adrenal suppression, such doses do not cause systemic symptoms, and side effects are of little consequence. Patients treated with steroid aerosols should continue to receive other effective therapeutic agents, notably adrenergic drugs, particularly by aerosol, and theophylline compounds. They should learn how to inhale the aerosol properly, and, most important, they should promptly start taking oral steroids when they experience an exacerbation of asthma.