Use of Leukotriene Receptor Antagonists Are Associated With a Similar Risk of Asthma Exacerbations as Inhaled Corticosteroids

AC Wu, L Li, V Fung. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2014;2(5):607–613 To assess the risk of asthma exacerbation in children with asthma treated with various controller medications, including inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), leukotriene antagonists (LTRA), and ICS/long-acting β-agonist combinations (ICS-LABA). The study subjects included 26 191 controller-naive asthmatic children aged 4 to 17 years with uncontrolled asthma defined as at least 1 previous asthma exacerbation in the preceding year requiring an ED visit, hospitalization, or a short course of oral corticosteroids. Subjects were recruited from the databases of 6 private health plans (59%) and from the Tennessee Medicaid population (41%). This was a retrospective cohort study of …