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Physicians report asthma medication problems

Respiratory Care Weekly, August 30, 2006

The combination of salmeterol and an inhaled corticosteroid can dangerously worsen asthma for a small subgroup of people, according to a letter published in the August 24 New England Journal of Medicine. University of Iowa physicians said in the letter that they want to ensure the medication combination is necessary for patients to avoid making their asthma more severe or even fatal.

"For most patients whose asthma cannot be controlled with a low-dose inhaled steroid, adding salmeterol to the steroid provides increased benefits," said physicians. "However, some patients are receiving the combination drug but don't actually need it, and there is at least a small subgroup of patients for whom previous research showed the salmeterol-steroid combination has a very negative, rather than beneficial, effect."

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